How Kermit the Frog Gave Me a Friend by Caroline

How Kermit the Frog Gave Me a Friend by Caroline - December 2019 Scholarship Essay

At the start of the week, his only companion was Kermit the Frog. As a junior counselor at the Youth Enrichment Center at the Hilton-Winn Farm in Cape Neddick, Maine, I met Isaiah on the first day of the Social Skills Summer Fun Farm Camp. On the autism spectrum, Isaiah mainly kept to himself. He was shy when it came to speaking to the other kids in the social skills group and visiting with the farm animals. Over the course of the four days of Summer Fun Farm Camp, I was able to witness Isaiah opening up more to me, to his fellow campers, and to the world around him.

Since I was the youngest of the counselors, I was directed to immerse myself into the group of kids. This was not difficult for me, as I love meeting new people and making new friends. I sat on the rug in the center of the barn next to a young boy wearing an emerald polo, a lime green hat, and a Kermit the Frog puppet on his left hand. His name, “Isaiah,” was scribbled on his nametag in green sharpie. “Green is my favorite color, too,” I said as I exchanged my first words with the young boy, “I’m Caroline, by the way. I like your Kermit!”

“Me too,” he replied, fiddling with the mouth of the puppet. Throughout the first day of camp, it was noticeable that Isaiah was hesitant to interact with the other kids and animals and in participating in games and crafts. I was by his side the whole day, ready to help him with anything he wanted to do. Instead, he kept to himself and his frog companion.

On the second day, things started to shift. In the afternoon circle, after a long day of fun farm activities, I sat down next to Isaiah. He was wearing a new green shirt, paired with the lime green hat, and Kermit on his left hand. Seeing that Kermit was important to him, I sparked up more conversation with him about it. After learning about how long he had owned Kermit and the importance of it, I asked Isaiah if I could hold his puppet. From the look in his eyes, I could tell that he was uncertain in handing Kermit over. He carefully placed the frog in the palms of my hands. I slipped my right hand in and fit it in order to make the mouth move. I turned to face Isaiah, and in the best Kermit the Frog voice that I could possibly do, I said, “Hey, how are you doing?”

The response I received was the most genuine laughter I have ever heard. Isaiah’s laughter resulted in a chain reaction of giggles from all the kids in the social skills group. “Do it again! Do it again!” Isaiah spoke in between laughs. Soon enough, I was administering Kermit conversations with each individual among the group.

Within the last two days of Summer Fun Farm Camp, Isaiah was engaging with the other campers, and he even faced his fears by going near the sheep and goats. He started making Kermit impressions to make the other social skills campers laugh. When he wanted a laugh, he would hand the puppet back to me to do it, and he would burst out in tears from laughing so hard.

It is crazy how a simple gesture or starting a simple conversation can help someone open up to others. The week I spent working at the summer camp with the social skills kids reminded me of the importance of reaching out to others, especially those who struggle with communication, to make them feel welcomed. Being a counselor and a mentor for children made me appreciate my relationships even more than I did before. Through music, art, games, and even puppet shows, I was able to connect kids together, guiding them to form friendships, and even becoming friends with them myself. Working as a camp counselor and the Hilton-Winn Farm Youth Enrichment Center has made me recognize that I do have an impact on the world and especially the people around me. I am forever grateful that Kermit the Frog gave me a new group of friends, including the one and only Isaiah.