This past summer I volunteered at a local day camp. When I took the position I was not exactly sure what to expect. I honestly did not think I would learn very much from any of the campers seeing as how they are between the ages of five and twelve. However, Corey proved me wrong.

The first day he came to camp he refused to get on the bus. Then once he finally decided to take the bus he was shy and reserved, always choosing to sit alone.

As I did with all of the campers on my bus, whenever I would see Corey around camp I would give him a friendly smile and greet him with a casual hello. I never thought much of it especially since

I would be lucky to receive an audible response back.

Then on his second to last day of camp his attitude changed. Corey took his solitary seat in the middle of the bus looking completely unaffected by all of the singing around him. I just happened to be sitting in front of him. I was talking with the camper next to me when suddenly I saw a stuffed animal above my head.

When I turned around he took it away and then replaced it as I tried to grab it. I was shocked, but we started to play a game. This continued for some time until I began to ask the animal silly questions about its day and it would shake its head yes or no. I finally began to talk to Corey about his weekend and we had a two-minute conversation.

Even though it was a short period of time, it was the longest anyone on the bus had been able to talk to him. As he got off the bus he even gave me a coveted high-five, which he had refused to give to any of the other counsellors on the bus. I realized that it must have been my constant greetings, although simple and seemingly unimportant, that got him to think of me as someone he could trust.

I never realized how big of an impact a positive attitude could make. Greeting Corey each day was something that was easy for me to do, but it also made a big impact on him. This one camper showed me how important a smile could be, as well as completely

made my day. •