Voyaging: CCYW

The impromptu open mic on top of the garbage can caught my eye from where I sat above on the stone steps. Sunlight came down from a blue sky, a recess from the rain of the day before. My cousin was speaking to a girl we had met the night previously about how nice the weather was while a few people to my right strummed guitars and discussed their workshops. I stretched back, listening to the roar of conversations I could not quite make out and closed my eyes.
It was well into the second day of the Champlain Young Writers Conference, or rather, my third day since I arrived a day early being a good four hours away, and I couldn't believe how quickly it was going. It felt like just five minutes ago I was sitting at the edge Lake Champlain watching the mist roll off the water, and maybe ten minutes before that I was at breakfast of the first day. How surreal.
I was there for nonfiction and was attending an awesome workshop led by Tim Brookes. Three pages of my composition notebook were filled with writing; three more pages than I had been able to write outside of class assignments for a long, long time.

I opened my eyes to a sunset unlike many that I've seen. Deep reds tinted the edge of indigo clouds, and Lake Champlain glittered with the golden reflection of a sun beyond the mountains. It occurred to me that it looked as if the water were on fire. I shifted my feet on the terrace, straining to see over the trees and buildings. My camera felt heavy in my hands, incapable of capturing the incredible beauty I was witnessing, and so I let it fall against my stomach, suspended as it was by the neckstrap I wore constantly. 
The screech of wrought iron against the floor cut into the creative conversation happening closer to the fireside lounge discussing a collaborative poem about the sunset. Another person was singing a song I had never heard before, but I was more concerned about witnessing the sunset in completion. I threw my coat down on the wet chair and sat down. I opened my notebook and began to write.

The conference was a fantastic experience. I went last year, but I think the extra year of maturity and preparedness for the outside world really let this year be fantastic. If you are a young writer and you love Vermont beauty and atmosphere, definitely consider applying for CCYW. There is something for all writers; impromptu poetry slams, moth storytelling, fiction workshops and craft talks, and just a great bunch of people.