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- hamilchaos
-
Scratcher
500+ posts
swc megathread ⌕ nov 2024
✦ city builder — swc leader app march 2025
2,443 words (with excerpt) ✦ 2,004 words (without excerpt) ✦ project version
✦ question one — 233 words
Tell us about yourself! Please include your nickname, pronouns, and optionally, timezone.
Hello viewers of this forum post or players of this minigame! I'm Alex (she/her), an almost 14 year-old girl, resident of Argentina (ART timezone), and lover of Oxford commas. If you can't find me, I'm probably in my room by myself coding, reading, learning about flags, playing The Sims 4 for a likely unhealthy amount of time, or doomscrolling through Tumblr or Youtube Shorts. I can also be found wearing my headphones for hours on end, most likely looping through Taylor Bickett's or Gracie Abrams’ discography (as I'm doing right now while I speedrun my app). On the rare occasion I go outside, it's probably for a swim or a walk around my neighborhood.
Since I'm from Argentina, my native language is Spanish, but I'm also fluent in English — which is largely SWC's doing. A personal goal for this summer is to learn French, since I recently got into a bilingual school that teaches it as a third language, and I'm two years behind. Still, I'm excited to catch up since I enjoy learning new things and knowing random fun facts.
My favorite TV show is Brooklyn Nine-Nine - even though I haven't finished it yet, I just know it is. As for books, my favorite series is The Lunar Chronicles, but I've heard a lot about Six of Crows and I've recently started it, so we'll see if it tops TLC ;>
✦ question two — 176 words
Have you previously participated in SWC? If so, in which roles? In either case, what experience do you have with writing and/or leadership positions on and off Scratch?
Yes, I have participated in SWC before. In fact, I've been in every session since July 2021 for a total of 11 consecutive sessions. I've led a cabin once, co-led five times, and been a camper five times.
✦
I wrote some stories before I joined SWC, but it was here that I started taking it more seriously and doing it more often. My mom, who is a Literature teacher, has also been a big influence on me — she often shares her knowledge about writing elements and techniques with me. Additionally, I started journaling a few months back, and I've found it's a great way to get a ton of words and cheat the SWC system, I mean, a great way to release my thoughts and organize them.
✦
I'm used to leading or directing groups in things like school projects, and I often take care of my two younger sisters. I'm eager to take up some new extracurriculars this year that can help me build my leadership a bit more, such as Model United Nations or debate.
✦ question three — 320 words
What cabins would you prefer to lead? This may be any pre-existing cabin genre, or potential new cabins. Please also include how you feel about (co)leading TCTWNW.
I keep a note with a bunch of cabin ideas, but these are my two main concepts. Of course, I would be honored to lead any cabin :]
✦ Stranded in the Mountains: Potentially Adventure, Thriller, or Mystery, this is my top pick because it has more possibilities for action, plot twists, and storyline progression. In this cabin, campers and leaders are survivors of an accident in the snow. The ultimate storyline goal is to be rescued, but meanwhile, the participants need to complete different challenges, such as find food, somewhere to sleep, or light a fire. The campers have to complete different writing or self-care tasks or activities to progress the storyline.
Depending on the genre, there could be different plot twists — for example, if it's Thriller or Mystery, one of the leaders could betray the cabin at some point, or secretly be the reason of their accident. This could be discovered later in the session, after the campers are more comfortable with the leaders.
(Step one: Gain their trust.
Step two: Betrayal >:])
✦ Cottage/Farm: With a genre similar to Real-Fi or even something like Children's Literature. Campers and leaders are in charge of a farm and they take care of it every day. They are divided into 2-3 groups or roles, such as farmers, mechanics, or animal caretakers, and each would have different farm-related tasks and responsibilities and function as a word-count group. All of the farm resources and elements are sustained by the campers, and there would be some “events” along the session such as going to the market and selling produce or fixing broken items. The success of the farm would depend on the collaboration and teamwork among the cabin.
✦
I’m okay with leading The Cabin That Will Not Win, but I'd rather have it for the second idea (Farm/Cottage) because it's more relaxed, and the first one (Stranded in the Mountains) would be more fast-paced and storyline-dependent.
✦ question four — 439 words with A/N, 375 words without A/N
Please provide an excerpt of your writing. It can be in any form - use what you believe represents your style the best.
A/N: This little piece is something I made rather recently, with the prompt “why do you like writing?”. It started as a reflection of my own journey as a writer, but it quickly transformed into its own narrative. This is a character's voice, not mine, and these are their own experiences; though I suspect most of you will relate to some part of this, hehe.
✦
My family and friends never get what I do. They don’t get why I spend hours a day glued to my computer, why I spend hours researching on baby name websites or why I “torture” myself trying to write 50,000 words in just one month. They don’t know why I do this, why I enjoy this, why I got into this, or —most importantly, in their eyes— why I didn’t “pick something that actually makes money”. I still remember that argument at the dinner table. I still remember the dozens of times they’d seen me stuck on a single chapter, not understanding why I couldn’t “just end it there”.
I stare at the empty doc page, thinking about all of the sentences I’ve backspaced today. I sigh, trying to focus.
Truth is, if they actually cared to look into it, if they tried, maybe they would’ve understood. Writing is the only way I’m able to express what I never had, what I want to have, and even some things I’m thankful for not having.
I shift my eyes away from the screen for just a moment. A crumpled up letter still sits in all the chaos of my desk.
While my classmates only thought of writing as something they need to do to pass their English class, for me it’s a gateway to fantasy worlds, alternate realities in which I’m the only one responsible for choosing what happens next. In the universes I craft, nothing can stop me. I can play a thousand different parts, narrate a thousand different situations, and create a thousand different setups, plot points, and resolutions.
I replay the message in my head, word by word, one more time. “We appreciate your submission, but unfortunately, it’s not quite what we’re looking for at the moment.”
Most of the time I’m not in control of these timelines, though. Once I establish who, where, what, when, why and how, the story is no longer mine. It’s my characters’. They have personalities, they have dimension, they have motivations, they have life. They take their own decisions and control their own lives. They often surprise me.
I throw away the problematic and wrinkled piece of paper. My fingers hover over the keys, the inspiration strikes.
✦ question five — 141 words
What amount of time do you expect to be able to dedicate to SWC? What plans do you have that could affect your activity?
For the rest of January and the first half of February, I expect to be able to dedicate at least 2 to 3 hours per day, since I'm on summer break. However, my school year begins on February 14th, and my free time will decrease significantly. I’ll leave my house early in the morning and be back at around 7pm my time, and between that, studying, and trying to maintain a somewhat healthy sleep schedule (let’s go, healthy sleep!! Ignore that I’m literally writing this at 12:30am), I am going commit to dedicating around an hour every schoolday and at least two hours on Sundays.
✦
I’m mostly not online on Saturdays due to religious reasons. I do not have any prominent plans apart from this, but if anything comes up, I’ll make sure to let the hosts and/or fellow leaders know.
✦ question six — 376 words
What are your skills and shortcomings in time management?
— Skills
▸ Organization: I love having a set schedule or routine for everything and using spreadsheets, calendars, alarms, to-do lists, color-coding, and similar tools. I’m good at planning, choosing what to prioritize, and ensuring everything is in place, which helps a lot in managing my time and keeping myself accountable. (If you only saw how many to-do lists I made for this app xD)
▸ Pressure: I work well under pressure, as I hate missing deadlines or turning something in late. I stay focused and the sense of urgency makes me work efficiently, but without rushing.
✦
— Shortcomings
▸ Procrastination: As many SWCers do, in many cases I find myself avoiding my tasks or putting them off until the last day (as I did with this app…). As I mentioned above, I work well under pressure, so even when I procrastinate, I usually get things done - but of course, some things slip, so I’m actively working to stop procrastinating and work on my tasks earlier.
▸ Time estimation: I often underestimate how long tasks will take. Here I am writing answers at 6pm when I estimated to have shared my application by 5 xD This mostly doesn’t cause major problems, but I’m gonna work on it guys I promise-
✦
— Double-edged swords: a small section added by me for those traits that are really good :) but also really bad :(
▸ Hyperfocus: When I set my mind to a task, I don’t like being interrupted or having to take a break. This is is a strength when I need a distraction-free environment, but many times I end up neglecting my own needs in order to finish a task. For example, yesterday I told my parents I wasn’t hungry for dinner, but I only said it because I was hyperfocused on coding part of this application and I really wanted to finish it (don’t worry guys I finished like 2 minutes later and I ate dinner - I’m so good at taking care of myself, trust /lh).
▸ Perfectionism: I hold extremely high standards for myself and I struggle with being satisfied with my work. This is also a double-edged sword because high standards are good for ensuring quality, but they also make me overthink what I’ve done and delay tasks since I constantly think there’s stuff I can improve.
✦ question seven — 288 words
What are your strengths and weaknesses in working with others? What assets would you bring to a leading team?
— Strengths
▸ Good communication: I approach every conversation, including disagreements, with calmness, respect, and an open mind. I make sure everyone’s perspectives, opinions, and ideas are considered and I remind them how valued their input is.
▸ Problem-solving: Whenever I face a challenge, my brain instinctively starts thinking about possible solutions and outcomes. I approach problems with both creativity and practicality in order to resolve them efficiently, even in overwhelming or difficult situations.
✦
— Weaknesses
▸ People-pleasing: I struggle saying “no” and setting boundaries, and I worry a lot about the impression I will leave on others after doing or saying something, even if it’s small. I put others’ wants or needs before my own because I’m afraid of rejection or people being disappointed in me. However, I’m learning to be more confident in my own opinions and actually communicating them. This comes easier if I’m in an environment I trust or feel comfortable in, like this very camp <3
▸ Low confidence: This is closely related to my perfectionism. I tend to think very little of my own work and ideas and compare them to others’, which makes me reluctant to share them. Similar to my people-pleasing, when I become more at ease, I also become a bit more confident in my abilities.
✦
— Double-edged sword
▸ Conflicts: As a people-pleaser, I avoid conflict at all costs- and while that means I’m a pretty good mediator and peacekeeper, it also means that I will go along with others’ opinions instead of justifying or defending my own.
✦
There are a variety of assets I’d bring to the leading team, including coding, empathy, creativity, good listening, graphic design, fun, chaos, support, appreciation, organization, and positivity. These assets allow me to contribute both in creative, cabin-related aspects and friendly or emotional aspects.
✦ question eight — 195 words
What is one quality you think you embody and how can you apply this to leadership in SWC?
Although I had many possible qualities for this question (such as resilience, responsibility, and commitment), I’ve ultimately decided to go with passion. I embody passion because I am eager, enthusiastic and energetic (whoa look all those adjectives start with an E), and I give my best effort in everything I do. An example of this is how I can’t stop joining SWC - I’m really passionate about this community, and it’s been one of the best experiences I’ve had so far.
✦
It’s important for leaders to be passionate about their cabins because not only does that drive you to put in an effort to succeed, but it shows others that you’re excited (I cannot escape the E adjectives, huh?) and creates a ripple effect of encouragement and motivation. Besides, if you’re not passionate about your own cabin, who will be? /j
As a leader, I’d demonstrate this quality by making sure that the care and thought I’ve put into my cabin shines through, either through the fun activities, the engaging storyline, or simply by bonding and promoting a sense of belonging. I want to make my cabin a memorable experience by bringing the whole group together.
✦ question nine — 198 characters
What cabin atmosphere do you aim to create?
This cabin will be activity-heavy, prioritizing bonding, teamwork, fun, and the storyline before focusing on competition and rankings, but campers are welcome to take part in any aspect they prefer.
✦ question ten — 169 words
a. Check all that apply:
☑ I will be available to help add points in the main cabin consistently throughout camp.
☑ I'm willing to share a promotional project for SWC.
b. Are there any leadership responsibilities listed in the FAQ you cannot complete? If any, please elaborate.
No, I believe myself capable of completing everything listed <3
c. In the case of inactive leadership (either by yourself or by a fellow leader), what steps will you take to ensure that the cabin can still move on smoothly?
— If I go inactive: Whether it’s planned or unexpected, I’d make sure to inform other leaders of my cabin and the hosts about any period of inactivity. I’d do my best to complete tasks, transfer ownerships, share resources and delegate responsibilities before stepping away. During the inactivity period, I’d try check in and lend a hand whenever I can, and once I’m back, help with catching up if needed.
— If a fellow leader goes inactive: First, I would try reaching out to them to see if there’s anything I can help with, and wait a few days in case they are busy. If the inactivity continues, I would let the hosts know about it and discuss with the active leader about the delegation of tasks, such as making a back-up word count studio or modifying the storyline accordingly. Finally, if the leader is still inactive, I’d consider selecting a new leader, taking into account the active leader's input.
✦ question eleven — 65 words
If you were to build a train route to any one place in the world, where would it be, and why?
I love exploring national parks and seeing different landscapes, and while the world has a lot of amazing nature scenery, I’m going to give this one to Norway :> I’d set up a train route traveling through some of the northernmost cities, stopping by parks and fjords along the way. It’d be extra-special since it would be my first time seeing snow and the Northern Lights :D
Last edited by hamilchaos (Jan. 18, 2025 20:26:21)
- Black__Hole
-
Scratcher
100+ posts
swc megathread ⌕ nov 2024
1. About Me (330 words)
Greetings, my name is Choi Sooeun, (otherwise known in a certain DIMENXION as Black Hole/B.H.,) but you can simply address me as Sooeun. My preferred pronouns are She/Her, and I, most definitely do not, reside in EST. And for those curious, my MBTI type is INFJ-A.
Anyways, more about me, yes. I am, quite frankly, an enjoyer of the most randomest of things. I enjoy writing (Shocking, isn't it? Though, as you’ll soon see in my response to Question 2, I was never really an arts person. I’m more so intrigued by the fields of technology, specifically in the areas of machine learning and AI.), designing, playing video games (More specifically, HSR and TWST), and pretty much anything magic-related ;). Some fandoms I’m in include DCMK, HSR, TWST, the Grishaverse, and a ton more I probably can’t name at the moment.
I’m quite the huge Belllie’ve and Orbit in terms of music taste, and can most definitely spend anywhere between eleven to twelve days going on about their lore and discography. And HOYO-MiX is the best artist of all time, change my mind /gen. Otherwise, I’m just a regular high schooler with a side hobby of encrypting things to get people scrambling because it’s fun ;D /lh (I mean, why else would this app be what it is?) I also have, quite frankly, a distinct sentence structure which I use on an hourly basis- And there is is again.
I’d write a lot more if I could, but introductions are definitely something I am still actively working towards- that 1k daily is definitely my favorite, for that reason. (Random fact, I know.) Either way, that’ll be more than a few things about me. With all that said, I hope you’ll enjoy my application. I had quite a bit of fun putting it together for all of you, so go right ahead- Quite like all of us, there’s more to it than what you see from the surface. ;D
2. Experience (357 words)
Within SWC:
To be brutally honest would be saying that I didn't, in fact, always love writing. In fact, I was never much of a language arts person growing up- Even just the sheer fact that I’d be more open to writing an essay than a fictional story… Probably concerning to some. :’D What changed that for me, however, was getting introduced to SWC just around a year ago. It's been truly wonderful, getting to spend 2024 with the SWC community, and especially, the three cabins I’ve camped in:
March ‘24 - Epistolary Letter Terminal
July ‘24 - Horror Simulation
November ‘24 - Sci-Fi Time Machine
Other Camps:
In terms of leading experience, I’m currently leading Value in the February ‘25 session of Scratch Design Camp. This is my first-ever time leading in a virtual camp, and I’ve been really enjoying the experience so far. Getting to sketch out the cabin concept and theme from nothing at all, whilst working with fellow leaders, is definitely something I’m enthusiastic about doing.
On Scratch, including the ‘DIMENXION’:
On this site, I’ve also been involved with the S-pop community since 2023, and as of now mainly working on the management aspect of the ‘industry’, I co-own a company, in which we’re currently hosting a survival show. I’d say it’s going quite smoothly, though I did have to encounter some difficulties on signups and people just not submitting things on time. I understand that although this different from the typical Scratch leadership positions, some of the same skills can be used. For instance, overseeing the cabin or studios and dealing with different people would be needed in both situations.
The ‘Real World’:
Outside of Scratch, I have, quite admittedly, not as much leadership experience as I would prefer. I’m one of the co-hosts of my school’s music club, though my responsibilities there are mainly just the behind-the-scenes planning portion. I’ve also led quite a few group projects over the years, and I’ve been on my school’s robotics team for a total of four years (not all consecutive), though those are, quite frankly, the works of team effort, rather than having a standalone leadership role.
3. Cabin Preferences (457 words)
The following is a list of cabin genres that would be of interest to me, along with potential storyline ideas. Of course, these are all working ideas which will be further conversed with the rest of the leadership team if I do end up getting chosen for leader or co- Any of the titles used here are simply a placeholder name for the given idea.
The ‘Timeline/Alternate Reality’:
There’s been at least two recorded instances of a time machine cabin, so I figured- Why not make a timeline-based cabin, then? The base storyline would involve different timelines or ‘alternate realities’, having similar events happen in each one. The goal? To stop the endless loop. Theming would vary from different genres, with Sci-Fi being the more generic version, though I would love to see this concept in a smaller genre like Steampunk or Cyberpunk, with the technological advances (Or, non-advances,) affecting how the world takes shape.
Compatible Genres: Sci-Fi, Steampunk, Cyberpunk
The ‘Disappearings’:
Everything seemed perfectly sound in the world around you… Until you’ve been captured by a group of misfits and rebels, who claim that the governance isn’t what they’re all put up to be, and are devising a plan to overthrow them. Meanwhile, people from all around start mysteriously disappearing without a trace, triggering utter chaos and panic. That is, until, certain clues start pointing to the group that’s been holding you captive…
Compatible Genres: Dystopian, Mystery, Thriller
The ‘Academy of Magic’:
Our entirely human campers are mysteriously transported to an arcane school of magic. Though they were found out to be possessing of no supernatural abilities, they’re also trapped at the school (Timeframe unconfirmed, either for the amount of years usual students are or just for the month) for the time being. All they can do now is to investigate and uncover the secrets of the academy, led by eccentric dorm leaders and a hierarchy shrouded in mystery. This theme is loosely (Eh, maybe a bit more than that,) inspired by the main story of Twisted-Wonderland, so it could definitely fall into the genre of Fan-Fi, but I’d prefer to stem away from that as my vision is to include more original elements based on the story’s ‘blueprint’ of sorts.
Compatible Genres: Gothic, Fantasy, Mystery, Fan-Fi
I’d be happy to lead any of the above genres in no particular order unless stated. Nonetheless, I’d be open to leading any cabin, just as long as it’s not TCTWNW. I respect the concept of TCTWNW, having it serve as an alternative for those who might be more oriented with their goals and in-cabin bonding, but I don’t see it being a good fit for me- I’m quite the competitive chaos-lover, if I do say so myself.
4. Excerpt (477 words)
“So what exactly are you planning this time?” Zeta rolled her eyes ever so slightly, clearly trying her best to hide her annoyance, “You know, we really didn't have to let anyone else in here. We're perfectly fine as a trio, I’m sure you’ve seen. Is there really anything we're missing? No! Clearly!” She snapped, verbally, directing her gaze at the other two girls in the room. Her fingers were busy fidgeting with a few dice on the table.
“Zeta-”
“And what do you have to say about that? You're the one doing the actual work most of the time. Half the time I’m convinced you don't even need me or Astrid here.”
Sooeun, and more so, Astrid, was clearly shocked by the statement, the iridescent-haired Starfell girl seemed to have finally lost it for once. “What?! You can't just say that- Stop denying your importance in this situation, for once. We're all in on this, right? Sooeun?”
The magician ran her fingers through her black hair, seemingly deep in thought. “They found us, the same way you had found me all that time ago. The signs are up for anyone to read, but most don't even have the slightest thought of pausing in their tracks.”
“You never really tell us anything, do you.” Zeta let out a long, deep sigh. “Are you going to tell us what we're doing with these new… ‘additions’?”
“And I thought you could read minds?” Sooeun chuckled slightly, getting up, and made her way over to where Zeta, completely unaware of what was happening before her, was seated. Unlike Zeta and Astrid, she couldn't rely on ‘real’ magic, only illusions, being, after all, slightly unfortunately, only human. Still, she was good at what she could. Enough to get around living with two basically astrological, literally otherworldly beings.
“You know how I feel about that. It’s complicated, having everything come in at once.” Only then did she realize her dice had somehow vanished. “Hey, give that back-”
“Alright, alright, fine,” she opene up her palm, showing that it was empty. “But I don't have them.”
“Oh, come on- Don't play games with me. And don't give me that look.”
Sooeun shrugged. “Check your pockets.”
Astrid couldn't make up her mind whether to talk the two out of a potential debate or giggle at the sight. It's truly amusing to see their skills at play, when used against each other or not. Preferably the latter, she thought quietly to herself. She and Zeta were from a distant universe, and possessed magical abilities. Astrid had been to Earth once before this, and it hurt to have to leave- Just the thought makes her shiver from the pain that had once drove her away. “No, I won't let that happen again, ever,” she muttered under her breath, just quiet enough so no one else heard.
5. Dedication (105 words)
The months ahead, specifically February and March, are just around, well, a little after second semester starts, so I can pretty confidently say the workload would be significantly lower than where January and exams would place me. An educated assumption would suppose being able to go online anywhere between 2-4 hours daily, alongside the occasional… ‘appearing and disappearing’ from time to time throughout the day.
Family matters don’t usually happen around this time of year besides Lunar New Year, which would, also, only be at the end of January. With all that aside, I have no other known plans that might affect my activity levels.
6. Time Management (215 words)
Weaknesses:
Procrastination - If I’m being brutally honest, I’ve lost count of the amount of times I, attemptedly, to varying levels of success, speedran a SWC daily or weekly within the last hour. Shocker, I’m a procrastinator. Yet, procrastination, within all the bad reputation, can be of assistance when used correctly. I work well under pressure, and so having that deadline or countdown can shove me into just the right state of mind to work. Though, point taken, I wouldn’t consider ‘The Procrastinator’ to be completely representative of my time management ability, but rather proof that I’m indeed not perfect.
Perfectionist - Another major weakness would be that I’m definitely a perfectionist at times (Who am I kidding, a lot of times-), and occasionally, do get carried away by one individual task and spend more than the supposed timeframe on it.
Strengths:
When it comes to strengths, I’m good at prioritizing and coming up with a plan or schedule to keep track of my progress, to confirm I can complete everything I need. I will admit- I am ambitious, but I’m also dedicated. I work towards set tasks on a daily basis in order to accomplish the goals at hand, neglecting any convictions of slacking off. That is, of course, unless it’s quite the well-deserved break. ;D
7. Collaboration and Assets (264 words)
Strengths:
Responsibility - I am responsible and adhere to previously set timelines so I can be assured that I’m on track with the planned progress. I make sure to finalize ideas with my team to confirm the solution we've come up with is to everyone’s liking.
Assertiveness - I can be quite assertive when it comes to management, though also understanding when I have to be, and will always make sure that campers are supported in the ways they need.
Weaknesses:
Indecisiveness - The biggest challenge for me in terms of collaboration is often my absolutely sufficient decisiveness. All jokes aside though, it's a proven fact that I can spend days contemplating between two singular words. My go-to approach for indecisiveness would be to either ask for input, which would facilitate well in a team environment, or simply come up with a way to incorporate all the different elements in a way that still makes complete sense. (And that last one, that could most definitely be considered a strength.)
Assets:
Management - I have quite a bit of experience setting up and managing studios on Scratch, as well as creating and designing graphics for a slightly large-scale event of sorts (, otherwise known as survival shows and trainee programs).
Design - I’ve been using Canva for around three years, and I’d say I’m sufficiently good with the software.
Activities - I enjoy all sorts of riddles and puzzles, and setting them up for various events is, as stated previously, one of my greatest pleasures in life. Writing clues, creating countless challenges, and hiding implicit messages are all pretty much second nature.
8. One Quality (219 words)
As per usual, picking only one out of seeming infinite options is quite the challenge. Though, if I had to select only one quality that I embody, it’d be ambition. Why, you ask? Believe me, it was a tough decision, but I’ll state my point in just a second.
I’ll start first by getting this out- I’m a yearner for new things. Let’s take S-pop for an example, shall we? Don’t you just get tired of seeing the same songs being covered, companies being run with the exact same structure that, indefinitely, only leads to them collapsing? Originality is something the modern society lacks, really. We’re often too hesitant to try new methods, or take on another task, due to the sheer fear of failure. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I always try to push myself in terms of creativity, innovation, and yes, ambition. I have a tendency to take on multiple projects at once, working towards each on parallel timelines, and enjoy experimenting with new approaches in contrast to pre-existing solutions. Though, I do understand that taking ambition too far can be draining, which is why we need to strike a balance between how much we’re putting on our plates in comparison to our own mental health. As they all say, Life > SWC, am I right?
9. Cabin Atmosphere (23 words)
A storyline-intensive cabin complete with engaging puzzles and activities, fostering just the proper balance of competitive spirit, in-cabin bonding, and of course… chaos. (172 characters)
10. Checkboxes (66 words)
a) Select all that apply:
✓ I will be able to consistently add points in the Main Cabin.
✓ I am willing to share a promotional project for SWC.
b) N/A.
c) In the case of inactive leadership by myself, I will ensure that I’ve given prior notice to the hosts and my (co)leader(s) whenever possible- Simply vanishing without a word or a couple backup plans wouldn't do. If the situation concerns another member of the team, I’d willingly step in for them where needed, making sure I have everything at hand to ease the transition.
11. Bonus Theme (43 words)
Given not a hint about where the route might possibly depart from… Really, quite simply, ‘wherever I desire at the moment’. A train that'll take you to where you ultimately want to go, even if your answer to that question isn't yet clear.
Greetings, my name is Choi Sooeun, (otherwise known in a certain DIMENXION as Black Hole/B.H.,) but you can simply address me as Sooeun. My preferred pronouns are She/Her, and I, most definitely do not, reside in EST. And for those curious, my MBTI type is INFJ-A.
Anyways, more about me, yes. I am, quite frankly, an enjoyer of the most randomest of things. I enjoy writing (Shocking, isn't it? Though, as you’ll soon see in my response to Question 2, I was never really an arts person. I’m more so intrigued by the fields of technology, specifically in the areas of machine learning and AI.), designing, playing video games (More specifically, HSR and TWST), and pretty much anything magic-related ;). Some fandoms I’m in include DCMK, HSR, TWST, the Grishaverse, and a ton more I probably can’t name at the moment.
I’m quite the huge Belllie’ve and Orbit in terms of music taste, and can most definitely spend anywhere between eleven to twelve days going on about their lore and discography. And HOYO-MiX is the best artist of all time, change my mind /gen. Otherwise, I’m just a regular high schooler with a side hobby of encrypting things to get people scrambling because it’s fun ;D /lh (I mean, why else would this app be what it is?) I also have, quite frankly, a distinct sentence structure which I use on an hourly basis- And there is is again.
I’d write a lot more if I could, but introductions are definitely something I am still actively working towards- that 1k daily is definitely my favorite, for that reason. (Random fact, I know.) Either way, that’ll be more than a few things about me. With all that said, I hope you’ll enjoy my application. I had quite a bit of fun putting it together for all of you, so go right ahead- Quite like all of us, there’s more to it than what you see from the surface. ;D
2. Experience (357 words)
Within SWC:
To be brutally honest would be saying that I didn't, in fact, always love writing. In fact, I was never much of a language arts person growing up- Even just the sheer fact that I’d be more open to writing an essay than a fictional story… Probably concerning to some. :’D What changed that for me, however, was getting introduced to SWC just around a year ago. It's been truly wonderful, getting to spend 2024 with the SWC community, and especially, the three cabins I’ve camped in:
March ‘24 - Epistolary Letter Terminal
July ‘24 - Horror Simulation
November ‘24 - Sci-Fi Time Machine
Other Camps:
In terms of leading experience, I’m currently leading Value in the February ‘25 session of Scratch Design Camp. This is my first-ever time leading in a virtual camp, and I’ve been really enjoying the experience so far. Getting to sketch out the cabin concept and theme from nothing at all, whilst working with fellow leaders, is definitely something I’m enthusiastic about doing.
On Scratch, including the ‘DIMENXION’:
On this site, I’ve also been involved with the S-pop community since 2023, and as of now mainly working on the management aspect of the ‘industry’, I co-own a company, in which we’re currently hosting a survival show. I’d say it’s going quite smoothly, though I did have to encounter some difficulties on signups and people just not submitting things on time. I understand that although this different from the typical Scratch leadership positions, some of the same skills can be used. For instance, overseeing the cabin or studios and dealing with different people would be needed in both situations.
The ‘Real World’:
Outside of Scratch, I have, quite admittedly, not as much leadership experience as I would prefer. I’m one of the co-hosts of my school’s music club, though my responsibilities there are mainly just the behind-the-scenes planning portion. I’ve also led quite a few group projects over the years, and I’ve been on my school’s robotics team for a total of four years (not all consecutive), though those are, quite frankly, the works of team effort, rather than having a standalone leadership role.
3. Cabin Preferences (457 words)
The following is a list of cabin genres that would be of interest to me, along with potential storyline ideas. Of course, these are all working ideas which will be further conversed with the rest of the leadership team if I do end up getting chosen for leader or co- Any of the titles used here are simply a placeholder name for the given idea.
The ‘Timeline/Alternate Reality’:
There’s been at least two recorded instances of a time machine cabin, so I figured- Why not make a timeline-based cabin, then? The base storyline would involve different timelines or ‘alternate realities’, having similar events happen in each one. The goal? To stop the endless loop. Theming would vary from different genres, with Sci-Fi being the more generic version, though I would love to see this concept in a smaller genre like Steampunk or Cyberpunk, with the technological advances (Or, non-advances,) affecting how the world takes shape.
Compatible Genres: Sci-Fi, Steampunk, Cyberpunk
The ‘Disappearings’:
Everything seemed perfectly sound in the world around you… Until you’ve been captured by a group of misfits and rebels, who claim that the governance isn’t what they’re all put up to be, and are devising a plan to overthrow them. Meanwhile, people from all around start mysteriously disappearing without a trace, triggering utter chaos and panic. That is, until, certain clues start pointing to the group that’s been holding you captive…
Compatible Genres: Dystopian, Mystery, Thriller
The ‘Academy of Magic’:
Our entirely human campers are mysteriously transported to an arcane school of magic. Though they were found out to be possessing of no supernatural abilities, they’re also trapped at the school (Timeframe unconfirmed, either for the amount of years usual students are or just for the month) for the time being. All they can do now is to investigate and uncover the secrets of the academy, led by eccentric dorm leaders and a hierarchy shrouded in mystery. This theme is loosely (Eh, maybe a bit more than that,) inspired by the main story of Twisted-Wonderland, so it could definitely fall into the genre of Fan-Fi, but I’d prefer to stem away from that as my vision is to include more original elements based on the story’s ‘blueprint’ of sorts.
Compatible Genres: Gothic, Fantasy, Mystery, Fan-Fi
I’d be happy to lead any of the above genres in no particular order unless stated. Nonetheless, I’d be open to leading any cabin, just as long as it’s not TCTWNW. I respect the concept of TCTWNW, having it serve as an alternative for those who might be more oriented with their goals and in-cabin bonding, but I don’t see it being a good fit for me- I’m quite the competitive chaos-lover, if I do say so myself.
4. Excerpt (477 words)
“So what exactly are you planning this time?” Zeta rolled her eyes ever so slightly, clearly trying her best to hide her annoyance, “You know, we really didn't have to let anyone else in here. We're perfectly fine as a trio, I’m sure you’ve seen. Is there really anything we're missing? No! Clearly!” She snapped, verbally, directing her gaze at the other two girls in the room. Her fingers were busy fidgeting with a few dice on the table.
“Zeta-”
“And what do you have to say about that? You're the one doing the actual work most of the time. Half the time I’m convinced you don't even need me or Astrid here.”
Sooeun, and more so, Astrid, was clearly shocked by the statement, the iridescent-haired Starfell girl seemed to have finally lost it for once. “What?! You can't just say that- Stop denying your importance in this situation, for once. We're all in on this, right? Sooeun?”
The magician ran her fingers through her black hair, seemingly deep in thought. “They found us, the same way you had found me all that time ago. The signs are up for anyone to read, but most don't even have the slightest thought of pausing in their tracks.”
“You never really tell us anything, do you.” Zeta let out a long, deep sigh. “Are you going to tell us what we're doing with these new… ‘additions’?”
“And I thought you could read minds?” Sooeun chuckled slightly, getting up, and made her way over to where Zeta, completely unaware of what was happening before her, was seated. Unlike Zeta and Astrid, she couldn't rely on ‘real’ magic, only illusions, being, after all, slightly unfortunately, only human. Still, she was good at what she could. Enough to get around living with two basically astrological, literally otherworldly beings.
“You know how I feel about that. It’s complicated, having everything come in at once.” Only then did she realize her dice had somehow vanished. “Hey, give that back-”
“Alright, alright, fine,” she opene up her palm, showing that it was empty. “But I don't have them.”
“Oh, come on- Don't play games with me. And don't give me that look.”
Sooeun shrugged. “Check your pockets.”
Astrid couldn't make up her mind whether to talk the two out of a potential debate or giggle at the sight. It's truly amusing to see their skills at play, when used against each other or not. Preferably the latter, she thought quietly to herself. She and Zeta were from a distant universe, and possessed magical abilities. Astrid had been to Earth once before this, and it hurt to have to leave- Just the thought makes her shiver from the pain that had once drove her away. “No, I won't let that happen again, ever,” she muttered under her breath, just quiet enough so no one else heard.
5. Dedication (105 words)
The months ahead, specifically February and March, are just around, well, a little after second semester starts, so I can pretty confidently say the workload would be significantly lower than where January and exams would place me. An educated assumption would suppose being able to go online anywhere between 2-4 hours daily, alongside the occasional… ‘appearing and disappearing’ from time to time throughout the day.
Family matters don’t usually happen around this time of year besides Lunar New Year, which would, also, only be at the end of January. With all that aside, I have no other known plans that might affect my activity levels.6. Time Management (215 words)
Weaknesses:
Procrastination - If I’m being brutally honest, I’ve lost count of the amount of times I, attemptedly, to varying levels of success, speedran a SWC daily or weekly within the last hour. Shocker, I’m a procrastinator. Yet, procrastination, within all the bad reputation, can be of assistance when used correctly. I work well under pressure, and so having that deadline or countdown can shove me into just the right state of mind to work. Though, point taken, I wouldn’t consider ‘The Procrastinator’ to be completely representative of my time management ability, but rather proof that I’m indeed not perfect.
Perfectionist - Another major weakness would be that I’m definitely a perfectionist at times (Who am I kidding, a lot of times-), and occasionally, do get carried away by one individual task and spend more than the supposed timeframe on it.
Strengths:
When it comes to strengths, I’m good at prioritizing and coming up with a plan or schedule to keep track of my progress, to confirm I can complete everything I need. I will admit- I am ambitious, but I’m also dedicated. I work towards set tasks on a daily basis in order to accomplish the goals at hand, neglecting any convictions of slacking off. That is, of course, unless it’s quite the well-deserved break. ;D
7. Collaboration and Assets (264 words)
Strengths:
Responsibility - I am responsible and adhere to previously set timelines so I can be assured that I’m on track with the planned progress. I make sure to finalize ideas with my team to confirm the solution we've come up with is to everyone’s liking.
Assertiveness - I can be quite assertive when it comes to management, though also understanding when I have to be, and will always make sure that campers are supported in the ways they need.
Weaknesses:
Indecisiveness - The biggest challenge for me in terms of collaboration is often my absolutely sufficient decisiveness. All jokes aside though, it's a proven fact that I can spend days contemplating between two singular words. My go-to approach for indecisiveness would be to either ask for input, which would facilitate well in a team environment, or simply come up with a way to incorporate all the different elements in a way that still makes complete sense. (And that last one, that could most definitely be considered a strength.)
Assets:
Management - I have quite a bit of experience setting up and managing studios on Scratch, as well as creating and designing graphics for a slightly large-scale event of sorts (, otherwise known as survival shows and trainee programs).
Design - I’ve been using Canva for around three years, and I’d say I’m sufficiently good with the software.
Activities - I enjoy all sorts of riddles and puzzles, and setting them up for various events is, as stated previously, one of my greatest pleasures in life. Writing clues, creating countless challenges, and hiding implicit messages are all pretty much second nature.
8. One Quality (219 words)
As per usual, picking only one out of seeming infinite options is quite the challenge. Though, if I had to select only one quality that I embody, it’d be ambition. Why, you ask? Believe me, it was a tough decision, but I’ll state my point in just a second.
I’ll start first by getting this out- I’m a yearner for new things. Let’s take S-pop for an example, shall we? Don’t you just get tired of seeing the same songs being covered, companies being run with the exact same structure that, indefinitely, only leads to them collapsing? Originality is something the modern society lacks, really. We’re often too hesitant to try new methods, or take on another task, due to the sheer fear of failure. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I always try to push myself in terms of creativity, innovation, and yes, ambition. I have a tendency to take on multiple projects at once, working towards each on parallel timelines, and enjoy experimenting with new approaches in contrast to pre-existing solutions. Though, I do understand that taking ambition too far can be draining, which is why we need to strike a balance between how much we’re putting on our plates in comparison to our own mental health. As they all say, Life > SWC, am I right?
9. Cabin Atmosphere (23 words)
A storyline-intensive cabin complete with engaging puzzles and activities, fostering just the proper balance of competitive spirit, in-cabin bonding, and of course… chaos. (172 characters)
10. Checkboxes (66 words)
a) Select all that apply:
✓ I will be able to consistently add points in the Main Cabin.
✓ I am willing to share a promotional project for SWC.
b) N/A.
c) In the case of inactive leadership by myself, I will ensure that I’ve given prior notice to the hosts and my (co)leader(s) whenever possible- Simply vanishing without a word or a couple backup plans wouldn't do. If the situation concerns another member of the team, I’d willingly step in for them where needed, making sure I have everything at hand to ease the transition.
11. Bonus Theme (43 words)
Given not a hint about where the route might possibly depart from… Really, quite simply, ‘wherever I desire at the moment’. A train that'll take you to where you ultimately want to go, even if your answer to that question isn't yet clear.
Last edited by Black__Hole (Jan. 18, 2025 23:47:36)
- Novanuhea123
-
Scratcher
100+ posts
swc megathread ⌕ nov 2024
1
hello folks!! welcome swcers, mango cats, hungry turtles, AND stalkers (yes, i see you ~)
i’m nova, teen artist, activist, reader, and (obviously) writer who uses they/she/he pronouns <3 i live in the wonderful extravagant fantabulous LWNT (land with no timezones - aka i am not comfortable sharing my timezone hehe)
i do enjoy quite a lot of things!! they usually involve me being creative because that is my happy place <3 i’ve recently started a sketchbook in hopes of drawing more, and i love that it’s become a daily habit of sorts. i’ve been drawing for as long as i can remember, probably longer than i’ve written - although that’s a close call
i also love making jewelry, making kandi, listening to music, plants, rocks, chemistry (of course ;D) and anything else random i will obsess over for weeks until it’s over (currently that would be foraging!! i do not in fact forage as i live in a very polluted area
but knowledge is power!)
i’m also very passionate about environmentalism!! like i’ve mentioned before i love plants and animals and how much everything is intertwined <3 i enjoy research (…about stuff i like slkdfj) and have made it my mission to do something about social issues! i also like talking, so if anyone would like to hear about it please talk to me ahah
all of this, really, is just a small part of who i am - it’s hard to summarize within a few paragraphs - but i hope this gave you a glimpse of who this random internet stranger could possibly be!! ;D
2
i have participated in swc a total of…4 times previously! which makes this one the fifth :00 i’ve been a camper all four sessions, which is why i’m excited to apply for coleader this time
although i don’t have any experience with leading on scratch, i am aware of the responsibilities of a coleader and i’m confident of my abilities irl, i’m in my school’s student council, and i colead a writing club with my friend!
3
i’d prefer to help lead anything that isn’t horror, thriller, or tragedy because i’m not too familiar with those genres, and i don’t think i’d be able to contribute well.
my personal favorite genres are poetry, fantasy, magical realism, epistolary - anything of the like! although it’d be amazing to lead any cabin at all <3
i’d prefer not to lead tctwnw - i really enjoy the competitive air of swc, and i’d like to use that excitement into any cabin i help lead ;D
4
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1093336662/
5
Hi, I’m ChatGPT. I don’t have a time zone, so I’m available 24/7, 365 days a year!
just kidding hehe i prioritize my health don’t worry!!
i expect to be able to dedicate about an hour a day to swc, since school will probably take up a lot of my time. however, i should be able to be online longer on weekends! i don’t think i have any plans during march except for maybe break if my family decides to go anywhere, but that’s not set in stone
6
i will admit time management isn’t my strong suit haha - procrastination has consumed me many times
howeverrr procrastination tends to hit with things i find incredibly boring (*cough* homework), and i do very well with things i’m interested in! like swc. it’s one of the things that makes me happy, and something i come to in my free time.
i am also getting better even when my procrastination hits! i set reminders and motivate myself, and it really helps. despite my shortcomings, i am very confident i will be able to keep up and keep track of things.
my skills are planning and my ability to do a lot in a short amount of time. when i’m excited (which i know i would be XD) i like to plan out things in an orderly fashion. my work style is in bursts, when my motivation decides to pop its head in, and i can complete a lot in that time! i just put in music and go for a few hours, very focused. it’s definitely one of my strengths <3
7
i like to think that i’m a good team player! i’m very open to ideas; i can bounce off others’ ideas and brainstorm well with people, and i can split and complete tasks quickly with others. i also am a good problem solver.
some of my weaknesses in this area are getting stuck on things or - i’ll be honest - being a bit impatient. i pace myself better now, so i don’t get stuck on things as often; and i’ve learned to be less impatient now haha! sometimes things don’t work out as perfectly as you want them to, and i’ve learned to be okay with that <3
one asset that i would bring to the team is my huge imagination ahah - i can dream very big and bring it to reality! little fun ideas are things that i would get very excited about. i’m also good at art and graphic design!
8
one quality that i admire and i think i embody is friendliness. i know, i know, it’s simple; but honestly, it’s one of the most important things about a leader. i want to be somebody people feel free to talk to, laugh with, and just generally have a good time with. i mean, you wouldn’t exactly want a mean leader, would you?
it fits in with the bonding spirit of a cabin. friendliness is what ties people together - in swc (all of you guys are so friendly akdfjdk <33) and in real life. friendliness is treating someone with warmth and respect. and you’d feel comfortable with a friendly person. it’s essential for the world - and it’s something i value a lot
9
a tight-knit, active community focused on exploration with writing, alongside an exciting and interactive plot - and making memories you can’t forget <3
10
yes
yes
no!
if i happened to go inactive, i would let the hosts and other coleaders know in advance. if it’s an emergency, i’d let them know as soon as possible. i’d make sure to do as much of my tasks and make sure everything is in control before i leave to make it easier for the others to adjust.
if a fellow leader goes inactive, i’d do my best to readjust and work to make sure everything runs smoothly. i’d help divvy up tasks to make sure things still get done, and check with another team member to make sure things are going good and how to move forward.
11
noodleland <3 where i am the government and the police and the teacher and anything else i want to be…iykyk
but if you’d like a real place as an answer (smh noodleland IS a real place but alas it isn’t on you humans’ maps) i’d say a long path across the americas - swc r̶o̶a̶d̶traintrip!! and then ofc extend it across the ocean for the rest of the world…dw i didn’t forget about y’all <3
hello folks!! welcome swcers, mango cats, hungry turtles, AND stalkers (yes, i see you ~)
i’m nova, teen artist, activist, reader, and (obviously) writer who uses they/she/he pronouns <3 i live in the wonderful extravagant fantabulous LWNT (land with no timezones - aka i am not comfortable sharing my timezone hehe
)i do enjoy quite a lot of things!! they usually involve me being creative because that is my happy place <3 i’ve recently started a sketchbook in hopes of drawing more, and i love that it’s become a daily habit of sorts. i’ve been drawing for as long as i can remember, probably longer than i’ve written - although that’s a close call
i also love making jewelry, making kandi, listening to music, plants, rocks, chemistry (of course ;D) and anything else random i will obsess over for weeks until it’s over (currently that would be foraging!! i do not in fact forage as i live in a very polluted area
but knowledge is power!)i’m also very passionate about environmentalism!! like i’ve mentioned before i love plants and animals and how much everything is intertwined <3 i enjoy research (…about stuff i like slkdfj) and have made it my mission to do something about social issues! i also like talking, so if anyone would like to hear about it please talk to me ahah
all of this, really, is just a small part of who i am - it’s hard to summarize within a few paragraphs - but i hope this gave you a glimpse of who this random internet stranger could possibly be!! ;D
2
i have participated in swc a total of…4 times previously! which makes this one the fifth :00 i’ve been a camper all four sessions, which is why i’m excited to apply for coleader this time
although i don’t have any experience with leading on scratch, i am aware of the responsibilities of a coleader and i’m confident of my abilities
irl, i’m in my school’s student council, and i colead a writing club with my friend! 3
i’d prefer to help lead anything that isn’t horror, thriller, or tragedy because i’m not too familiar with those genres, and i don’t think i’d be able to contribute well.
my personal favorite genres are poetry, fantasy, magical realism, epistolary - anything of the like! although it’d be amazing to lead any cabin at all <3
i’d prefer not to lead tctwnw - i really enjoy the competitive air of swc, and i’d like to use that excitement into any cabin i help lead ;D
4
https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1093336662/
5
Hi, I’m ChatGPT. I don’t have a time zone, so I’m available 24/7, 365 days a year!
just kidding hehe i prioritize my health don’t worry!!
i expect to be able to dedicate about an hour a day to swc, since school will probably take up a lot of my time. however, i should be able to be online longer on weekends! i don’t think i have any plans during march except for maybe break if my family decides to go anywhere, but that’s not set in stone
6
i will admit time management isn’t my strong suit haha - procrastination has consumed me many times
howeverrr procrastination tends to hit with things i find incredibly boring (*cough* homework), and i do very well with things i’m interested in! like swc. it’s one of the things that makes me happy, and something i come to in my free time.
i am also getting better even when my procrastination hits! i set reminders and motivate myself, and it really helps. despite my shortcomings, i am very confident i will be able to keep up and keep track of things.
my skills are planning and my ability to do a lot in a short amount of time. when i’m excited (which i know i would be XD) i like to plan out things in an orderly fashion. my work style is in bursts, when my motivation decides to pop its head in, and i can complete a lot in that time! i just put in music and go for a few hours, very focused. it’s definitely one of my strengths <3
7
i like to think that i’m a good team player! i’m very open to ideas; i can bounce off others’ ideas and brainstorm well with people, and i can split and complete tasks quickly with others. i also am a good problem solver.
some of my weaknesses in this area are getting stuck on things or - i’ll be honest - being a bit impatient. i pace myself better now, so i don’t get stuck on things as often; and i’ve learned to be less impatient now haha! sometimes things don’t work out as perfectly as you want them to, and i’ve learned to be okay with that <3
one asset that i would bring to the team is my huge imagination ahah - i can dream very big and bring it to reality! little fun ideas are things that i would get very excited about. i’m also good at art and graphic design!
8
one quality that i admire and i think i embody is friendliness. i know, i know, it’s simple; but honestly, it’s one of the most important things about a leader. i want to be somebody people feel free to talk to, laugh with, and just generally have a good time with. i mean, you wouldn’t exactly want a mean leader, would you?
it fits in with the bonding spirit of a cabin. friendliness is what ties people together - in swc (all of you guys are so friendly akdfjdk <33) and in real life. friendliness is treating someone with warmth and respect. and you’d feel comfortable with a friendly person. it’s essential for the world - and it’s something i value a lot
9
a tight-knit, active community focused on exploration with writing, alongside an exciting and interactive plot - and making memories you can’t forget <3
10
yes
yes
no!
if i happened to go inactive, i would let the hosts and other coleaders know in advance. if it’s an emergency, i’d let them know as soon as possible. i’d make sure to do as much of my tasks and make sure everything is in control before i leave to make it easier for the others to adjust.
if a fellow leader goes inactive, i’d do my best to readjust and work to make sure everything runs smoothly. i’d help divvy up tasks to make sure things still get done, and check with another team member to make sure things are going good and how to move forward.
11
noodleland <3 where i am the government and the police and the teacher and anything else i want to be…iykyk
but if you’d like a real place as an answer (smh noodleland IS a real place but alas it isn’t on you humans’ maps) i’d say a long path across the americas - swc r̶o̶a̶d̶traintrip!! and then ofc extend it across the ocean for the rest of the world…dw i didn’t forget about y’all <3
Last edited by Novanuhea123 (Jan. 18, 2025 00:19:17)
- Zyzeryko
-
Scratcher
100+ posts
swc megathread ⌕ nov 2024
2995 words, not including the captions/question name, credits or the excerpt
Hello!!! I'm Zy (he/him), a sophomore in high school currently plotting my escape from the PST timezone. Between SWC sessions (and when I'm procrastinating on the daily) you can normally find me drawing, playing Genshin Impact, making YouTube videos, jumping on my trampoline, and of course, writing!!
I’ve been doing digital art for more than five years now! I try to dedicate a lot of time to learning more about it and practicing. Within my application, I took the opportunity to showcase some of my most recent pieces!
In addition to this, I like to play video games in my free time, and I’ve recently gotten back into Genshin! I love all the unique characters, and I think my love of writing made Genshin’s lore so much more impactful to me.
As for my content creation, I love to make YouTube videos documenting my art journey and findings! It’s not been super successful yet (shoutout to my 12 subscribers though :sparkles: ) but I really enjoy making videos and talking about my experiences as an artist. Since deciding to dedicate so much time to making videos, I’ve had to learn a lot about time management so I can get everything done on time!
And I love trampolines ;D if it was up to me, I’d be at the trampoline park every day, b o u n c i n g
As far as writing goes, I’m currently brainstorming ideas for a dystopian/utopian novel. I don’t know how it’s both simultaneously, but feel free to ask me in March! Even though I probably won’t know then either ;D
In honor of completing almost all my goals last session, I'm going to challenge myself even further this time! Here are my goals for the March session:
- Write 40k words
Between my YouTube scripts, dailies/weeklies, cabin wars, and of course, my novel, I am hoping to hit a new record for myself in terms of writing with 40,000 words!!! last session I hit my current record with 35k after years of trying and it was such a proud moment
- Get my novel to 20k words
In November I committed myself to getting any novel of my choice to 15k words, and even though I wanted to give up every single day I worked as hard as I could and accomplished it on the very last day of the session <3 This time we're going for 20k!
- Do all 4 weeklies and at least half the dailies
Like both of my previous goals, I was able to do all four weeklies during November!!! They were super fun and I learned something new from each one. However, I ended up not quite reaching my goal of 15 dailies–so this session, I’m trying again!
You know what they say, time flies when you're having fun–and it really does. It feels like I just stumbled into fantasy in July 2020 yesterday, and here I am preparing to head into my 15th session <3 It's been such a crazy and wonderful journey and I'm so grateful to have gotten all these opportunities to better myself as a leader, writer, and most importantly, as a person.
My life has revolved around writing since I was a young child, so SWC means a lot to me–I truthfully couldn't imagine my life without it and all the amazing people I have met. Before we get around to all my other answers, I'd like to cut out this section in my application to thank every single person who has made this community what it is today <3 You're all amazing and I'm so grateful to be heading into this next session with you regardless of the results. SWC and its incredible community have helped me through the hardest times of my life. I'm infinitely grateful to all of you <3
Without further introduction, here are all the sessions I've spent as a camper (please reach out to me if you need a list of my account username at the time) <3
July 20 - (Fantasy) -Alocasia and Foxies4Ever
Nov 20 - (Real-Fi) holographic, pitau, and apart-
Mar 21 - (Dystopian) Bellevue91, MiraculousLover05, and ViennaLeWeirdo
July 21 - (Mystery) sproutdoodlq and ViennaLeWeirdo
Nov 21 - (Poetry) Elvin_Wonders, Sunclaw68, and PandasCodingGames
Mar 22 - (was in Non-Fi, switched to Sci-Fi) Rey_venclaw, -limeade, 129waterfall, and Starrial
July 22 - (Dystopian) ButterPopcorn8, Starrial, 2GS6, and Firetender
Nov 22 - (Sci-Fi) Spire-, bookworm_4ever12, and gh0stwriter
Mar 23 - (Horror) EeveeDonut, MouseLoverr, Spire-, and Lesixiq-
July 23 - (Adventure) rocksalmon800, scratch_warrior_cat, minergold48
Nov 23 - (Sci-Fi) MouseLoverr, Eeveedonut, CelinaWrites, Firetender
July 24 (Gothic) mossflower29, opheliio, -BookDragon-, -vanillamochabear-
In March of last year, I was chosen to lead the Sci-Fi cabin! I had such an amazing experience and I learned so much from my leadership role. Ultimately, if I had to change something about it, I would make our storyline flow a bit better! It was super fun and it had a lot of unique properties, but the lack of engaging activities throughout the session made it feel a bit repetitive.
In November, I was able to lead for a second time in Mystery! This was my most active session to date, and I’m incredibly proud of the goals I accomplished during it. If I had to change something about the way I approached Mystery’s storyline, I would tone it down rather than up. While it was super fun coming up with all the details, it was confusing and too complex to participate actively in.
I would say I have quite a bit of writing experience between the many classes I've taken on the subject and the many pieces I've written (and never finished). I've taken multiple writing workshops at my middle and now high school, as well as some online ones in the past few years. To date, I've finished one (very bad) novel and spent a ton of time working on others.
As far as real-life leadership experience goes, I sometimes find it hard to find activities that I’m interested in that benefit my leadership skills and my ability to work with others. I enjoy volunteering at animal shelters and I occasionally work at my parent’s company or help manage things around my house/school. Throughout these experiences and my leadership roles in SWC, I've learned a lot about responsibility and common leadership roles in life.
I would be incredibly happy to be chosen to lead any cabin, regardless of genre–however, there are definitely some I prefer! Here are my top choices, not listed in order (but my absolute favorites are starred):
- Dystopian ✩✩✩
- Utopian
- Sci-fi
- Mystery
- Thriller ✩
- Adventure
- Steampunk
- Fantasy
- Horror ✩
- Cyberpunk (or a similar _punk genre!) ✩
- Apocalyptic
My top choices would be a Cyberpunk cabin or to co/lead the existing Dystopian cabin. I've been a camper in Dystopian twice so far, and it was so much fun both times! Dystopian is my favorite genre to write in (and also the only one I write in ajdkadjakdsk) so I would love the opportunity to lead it in this coming session.
While I would be overjoyed to be considered for any leader/co role, there are a few cabins I am not comfortable with leading this session. They are Non-fi, Fan-fi, Romance, and Hi-fi. Despite my love for these genres, I don’t think I could serve as the best leader of them–and I would never want others to have a poorer experience due to my lack of experience with these genres.
In addition to this, I am not interested in co/leading TCTWNW. I think it is an amazing concept and love the bigger focus on goals rather than competition, but I prefer the competitive aspect of SWC and don't believe I could serve as the best co/leader of that cabin!
Here are some ideas for cabins:
(Cyberpunk, Mystery, Horror, Sci-fi) With the opening of the long-awaited _ space hotel as a mark of humanity's endeavors to bring civilization to other planets, people are naturally excited. But excitement quickly turns sour as strange occurrences shade the hotel's prominent future, leaving everyone alone and afraid in a strange building on an unfamiliar planet.
(Dystopian, Utopian, Sci-fi, Cyberpunk, Apocalyptic, Thriller) Your life has always been perfect. You spend your days in your plain white room in a plain white building attending to your studies with the hope of one day becoming someone important in the city. But all your dreams shatter on the floor when you're kidnapped by a group of strange rebels, promising that the life you've known is a lie, your perfect world is fake, and your safety is now jeopardized by the secrets you've uncovered.
(Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Adventure, Horror, Folklore, Fairy Tales) The Woods have always been dark. They've always kept secrets, locked up tight between branches and thorns. But the air has shifted. People are drawn to them now, letting the strange shapes of the forest lure them in, never to return. You save a chance to save them all, but be careful. Nothing in the Woods is as it seems.
Of course, choosing any of these ideas would require the input and opinions of my leader/cos! If these ideas don't end up working for them and/or with our cabin, I would be more than happy to come up with a brand new idea within our team!
315 words
The sky was clear, but despite its lack of life I would’ve been more than happy to watch it for the rest of my days. It was an infinite serene ivory, stretching across what I could only assume was the entire world. The air was tinged with cold, but I didn’t mind. Any weather was a luxury.
One hundred generations. One hundred generations had lived and breathed, dying inside the same concrete box in which they were born.
Two thousand years of history, forty-five feet of solid concrete under the ground.
It was impossible to wrap my mind around. Two millenia, come and gone and I stood here now, my feet on solid ground, the first to see the sky.
It was not by choice, but if it had been I would’ve chosen it anyway. I had less than twenty minutes before my demise would surely arrive, but I would chop any amount of years off my life if it meant a moment to watch the infinite horizons.
“Get out!” she had screamed. And I had gone like the winds I had never felt. “You are a monster unburdened by your curse!”
And now I was a monster alone. Alone in a vast world, the sky turning every color I had ever seen as it grew darker. The sun fell out of sight, leaving the world silent in a deep grey-blue, tinged a fading orange where the sun had fallen away.
Even in darkness the sky was more beautiful than anyone could proclaim.
But a noise startled me from my thoughts, and my jaw fell slack as I turned to face what had been behind me the whole time I had been lost in emotion.
In the distance, I saw something I instantly recognized, despite the length between us.
In a world where everyone but us had been dead for multiple millenia, stood a tower.
During March, I’d reasonably be able to dedicate 2-3 hours per day to SWC and SWC-related activities, and more on weekends and during events. I have school from 7 am - 2 pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday! However, during my breaks, I could easily check in to chat with other people in the cabin, work on activities such as the daily or weekly, or add words and points in the main cabin! I currently don’t know the workload my studying or AP class will require, but it's one of the easier ones and I plan to regularly update my leader/cos about my commitment to my classes and school. During the days I do not have school, I try to spend upwards of three hours working on my art and YouTube channel. Between this and my other obligations, including rest, I believe this is a reasonable amount of time to spend on SWC per day!!
Every single session as my skills grow, I find myself becoming better and better at managing my time effectively. The previous semester of the school year challenged me in a way that I think ultimately helped me to become much better at staying on task, finishing things on time, and working on projects consistently.
Skills:
- Fast working. Once I have sat down and decided to get something done, I enjoy challenging myself to complete it in as little time as possible–while being careful that I’m not sacrificing quality, creative input, or the opinions of others. I find this is extremely helpful when planning a cabin, as it gives us extra time between projects and deadlines to come up with new ideas or add to what’s already been created.
- Dedication. For the past couple of months, I’ve been spending between three and six hours a day working on my art and my YouTube channel! This project has challenged me in so many ways as I’ve practiced constantly dedicating myself fully to a project that has yet to see any payoff. I love working on fun and unique projects and having the chance to fully dedicate myself to them.
- Consistency. As mentioned in the previous example, I work towards my goals every single day! I believe consistency is one of the most important things on this list, and I’ve come a long way in my own consistency since July. I used to put things off until the last possible second, putting stress on myself or the people I was working with. Recently, due to the unique challenge of my YouTube videos, I’ve been learning to work on something consistently over a longer period to avoid putting pressure on myself and others and making that final payoff all the more satisfying.
Shortcomings:
- Consistency’s evil twin Procrastination. As someone who is easily distracted by whatever more interesting project comes my way or the variety of trinkets on my desk, procrastination often rules my life. While it’s sometimes helpful to put things off until the last minute just so my brain kicks into Motivation Mode™, it’s not worth the extra stress. One method I’ve found to counter this is timers :sparkles: I will set a timer for a certain amount of time and start working. This method has been genuinely so helpful and I know it will continue to help me out going forward.
- Lack of commitment. I find it incredibly difficult to work on projects I have little interest in, especially when the tasks are mundane or repetitive. This has hindered my progress in the past since I tend to try and make things more exciting for myself instead of accepting the task for what it is and working through it. Recently, I’ve been finding small but meaningful ways to make these a bit more fun without offsetting the progress that needs to be made with them.
I absolutely love collaborating with others and working on projects with them. In both of my sessions leading, I had so much fun working with everyone to come up with fun and unique plotlines while we got to know each other!
Strength:
- I have a very positive and optimistic outlook on most situations, something I believe has helped me stay motivated throughout my projects. I love to encourage others and help them achieve whatever goal they are working towards while making sure to express my empathy for everyone and their unique situation.
- Being welcoming is hugely important, especially within our community here on Scratch! I always work my hardest to make sure everyone within the cabin, the leadership team, and the community as a whole feels welcomed, wanted, and valued. Kindness and respect go a long way, and it’s an easy way to have a large impact on someone’s life.
Weaknesses:
- I tend to be very opinionated. While I never let these opinions impact my view of others, I sometimes feel as if I’m talking over the people that I’m supposed to be working with. In this coming session, I’d like to take a step back and assess the opinions of my teammates before we come to a conclusion together!
- Unfortunately, my existing opinions do not mix well with my fear of making people upset or angry. I hate thinking of someone being upset with or mad at me, and it stresses me out a lot when I feel that they are—even when that’s not the case. Going forward, I am continuing to work on not taking things personally and being direct and open with communication.
Asset:
In addition to my strengths in collaboration, I feel there are other skills I can bring to a leadership team. These include:
- Digital art! As mentioned in my About Me, I have quite a fair bit of experience in digital art and I would love to do any sort of art for whatever cabin I am chosen to co/lead!
- Graphic design! I’ve been using Canva for years and I know the best fonts :sparkles:
- Storyline ideas! I lovelovelove coming up with a unique storyline each session with my leadership team! It’s so much fun to work from a simple concept to a fully fleshed-out cabin, and I have a lot of ideas I could contribute!
- Coding! I’m certainly not great at coding, but since I’ve been doing it for so long I feel I could help out my team with the coding aspects of co/leading a cabin!
There are a ton of qualities I think are important to have as a leader and I always try to embody them as much as possible—but if I had to choose just one, it would be determination! I consider myself to be incredibly determined–and while this sometimes leads to me taking on too many projects solely to prove I can do it, I love working on bigger projects and powering through to the end. As a co/leader, I would use this to dedicate myself fully to coming up with a unique cabin storyline and plan, stay engaged throughout the session, and keep up with my leadership responsibilities! I deeply value the commitment and determination of others, and I think it is a hugely important trait for a leader to have. I’m always working to make myself the most determined person I can be!
An energetic and competitive cabin with a focus on our complex storyline. Make friends, solve puzzles, and accomplish your goals while we fight our way to first place!
167 characters
√ I will add points in the main cabin
√ I am willing to share a promotional project for SWC
B: No, I am positive I can complete them all.
C: In the case of my own inactivity, I would inform my co/leaders as well as the hosts as soon as I was aware. If the situation allowed it, I would check in frequently and assist with whatever I could during my absence, giving updates as to how long I would be gone and working within the team to make the temporary transfer of responsibilities as smooth as possible. It’s important to get projects, cabin planning, and other responsibilities out of the way as early on as possible–that way, if someone ends up going inactive or needing to leave, most obligations have been taken care of prior! If it was the absence of another member of the leadership team, I would inform the hosts and the other leader/cos of the situation. We would try to find another way to reach them if possible, and if all else fails, we would find a solution that works and supports all of the remaining members—this could involve finding a new co or transferring their responsibilities.
thank you for taking the time to view my application, i wish everyone the best of luck and i know March will be absolutely amazing, regardless of results, as always with this wonderful community <3
credits <3 ✮⋆˙
── .✦ the swc community for being awesome <3 ⋆.˚ ᡣ?
── .✦ hosties for hosting ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
── .✦ bookie, chuey, livy, skylar and mouse for critiquing my app answers ⋆˙⟡♡ thank you guys so much!!
── .✦ me for the answers, art, coding and characters ✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ˙⋆✶
── .✦ music is Natlan Live Symphony from Genshin Impact ִֶָ ☆⊹ ִֶָ it's absolutely stunning, please give it a listen if you have time (and shoutout to luka for downloading it for me) <3
── .✦ coolsymbols.com for the symbols and fonts ☄︎₊˚⊹☆
cat ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
yes i went overboard with the little aesthetic symbols and fonts ajakdkakdkajaj LOOK AT THE CAT ITS ADORABLE
₊˚⊹౨ৎ ₊˚⊹ About Me
Hello!!! I'm Zy (he/him), a sophomore in high school currently plotting my escape from the PST timezone. Between SWC sessions (and when I'm procrastinating on the daily) you can normally find me drawing, playing Genshin Impact, making YouTube videos, jumping on my trampoline, and of course, writing!!
I’ve been doing digital art for more than five years now! I try to dedicate a lot of time to learning more about it and practicing. Within my application, I took the opportunity to showcase some of my most recent pieces!
In addition to this, I like to play video games in my free time, and I’ve recently gotten back into Genshin! I love all the unique characters, and I think my love of writing made Genshin’s lore so much more impactful to me.
As for my content creation, I love to make YouTube videos documenting my art journey and findings! It’s not been super successful yet (shoutout to my 12 subscribers though :sparkles: ) but I really enjoy making videos and talking about my experiences as an artist. Since deciding to dedicate so much time to making videos, I’ve had to learn a lot about time management so I can get everything done on time!
And I love trampolines ;D if it was up to me, I’d be at the trampoline park every day, b o u n c i n g
As far as writing goes, I’m currently brainstorming ideas for a dystopian/utopian novel. I don’t know how it’s both simultaneously, but feel free to ask me in March! Even though I probably won’t know then either ;D
In honor of completing almost all my goals last session, I'm going to challenge myself even further this time! Here are my goals for the March session:
- Write 40k words
Between my YouTube scripts, dailies/weeklies, cabin wars, and of course, my novel, I am hoping to hit a new record for myself in terms of writing with 40,000 words!!! last session I hit my current record with 35k after years of trying and it was such a proud moment
- Get my novel to 20k words
In November I committed myself to getting any novel of my choice to 15k words, and even though I wanted to give up every single day I worked as hard as I could and accomplished it on the very last day of the session <3 This time we're going for 20k!
- Do all 4 weeklies and at least half the dailies
Like both of my previous goals, I was able to do all four weeklies during November!!! They were super fun and I learned something new from each one. However, I ended up not quite reaching my goal of 15 dailies–so this session, I’m trying again!
⋆˙ ⋆⭒˚.⋆ Past Participation
You know what they say, time flies when you're having fun–and it really does. It feels like I just stumbled into fantasy in July 2020 yesterday, and here I am preparing to head into my 15th session <3 It's been such a crazy and wonderful journey and I'm so grateful to have gotten all these opportunities to better myself as a leader, writer, and most importantly, as a person.
My life has revolved around writing since I was a young child, so SWC means a lot to me–I truthfully couldn't imagine my life without it and all the amazing people I have met. Before we get around to all my other answers, I'd like to cut out this section in my application to thank every single person who has made this community what it is today <3 You're all amazing and I'm so grateful to be heading into this next session with you regardless of the results. SWC and its incredible community have helped me through the hardest times of my life. I'm infinitely grateful to all of you <3
Without further introduction, here are all the sessions I've spent as a camper (please reach out to me if you need a list of my account username at the time) <3
July 20 - (Fantasy) -Alocasia and Foxies4Ever
Nov 20 - (Real-Fi) holographic, pitau, and apart-
Mar 21 - (Dystopian) Bellevue91, MiraculousLover05, and ViennaLeWeirdo
July 21 - (Mystery) sproutdoodlq and ViennaLeWeirdo
Nov 21 - (Poetry) Elvin_Wonders, Sunclaw68, and PandasCodingGames
Mar 22 - (was in Non-Fi, switched to Sci-Fi) Rey_venclaw, -limeade, 129waterfall, and Starrial
July 22 - (Dystopian) ButterPopcorn8, Starrial, 2GS6, and Firetender
Nov 22 - (Sci-Fi) Spire-, bookworm_4ever12, and gh0stwriter
Mar 23 - (Horror) EeveeDonut, MouseLoverr, Spire-, and Lesixiq-
July 23 - (Adventure) rocksalmon800, scratch_warrior_cat, minergold48
Nov 23 - (Sci-Fi) MouseLoverr, Eeveedonut, CelinaWrites, Firetender
July 24 (Gothic) mossflower29, opheliio, -BookDragon-, -vanillamochabear-
In March of last year, I was chosen to lead the Sci-Fi cabin! I had such an amazing experience and I learned so much from my leadership role. Ultimately, if I had to change something about it, I would make our storyline flow a bit better! It was super fun and it had a lot of unique properties, but the lack of engaging activities throughout the session made it feel a bit repetitive.
In November, I was able to lead for a second time in Mystery! This was my most active session to date, and I’m incredibly proud of the goals I accomplished during it. If I had to change something about the way I approached Mystery’s storyline, I would tone it down rather than up. While it was super fun coming up with all the details, it was confusing and too complex to participate actively in.
I would say I have quite a bit of writing experience between the many classes I've taken on the subject and the many pieces I've written (and never finished). I've taken multiple writing workshops at my middle and now high school, as well as some online ones in the past few years. To date, I've finished one (very bad) novel and spent a ton of time working on others.
As far as real-life leadership experience goes, I sometimes find it hard to find activities that I’m interested in that benefit my leadership skills and my ability to work with others. I enjoy volunteering at animal shelters and I occasionally work at my parent’s company or help manage things around my house/school. Throughout these experiences and my leadership roles in SWC, I've learned a lot about responsibility and common leadership roles in life.
⋆˚✿˖° Cabin Preferences
I would be incredibly happy to be chosen to lead any cabin, regardless of genre–however, there are definitely some I prefer! Here are my top choices, not listed in order (but my absolute favorites are starred):
- Dystopian ✩✩✩
- Utopian
- Sci-fi
- Mystery
- Thriller ✩
- Adventure
- Steampunk
- Fantasy
- Horror ✩
- Cyberpunk (or a similar _punk genre!) ✩
- Apocalyptic
My top choices would be a Cyberpunk cabin or to co/lead the existing Dystopian cabin. I've been a camper in Dystopian twice so far, and it was so much fun both times! Dystopian is my favorite genre to write in (and also the only one I write in ajdkadjakdsk) so I would love the opportunity to lead it in this coming session.
While I would be overjoyed to be considered for any leader/co role, there are a few cabins I am not comfortable with leading this session. They are Non-fi, Fan-fi, Romance, and Hi-fi. Despite my love for these genres, I don’t think I could serve as the best leader of them–and I would never want others to have a poorer experience due to my lack of experience with these genres.
In addition to this, I am not interested in co/leading TCTWNW. I think it is an amazing concept and love the bigger focus on goals rather than competition, but I prefer the competitive aspect of SWC and don't believe I could serve as the best co/leader of that cabin!
Here are some ideas for cabins:
(Cyberpunk, Mystery, Horror, Sci-fi) With the opening of the long-awaited _ space hotel as a mark of humanity's endeavors to bring civilization to other planets, people are naturally excited. But excitement quickly turns sour as strange occurrences shade the hotel's prominent future, leaving everyone alone and afraid in a strange building on an unfamiliar planet.
(Dystopian, Utopian, Sci-fi, Cyberpunk, Apocalyptic, Thriller) Your life has always been perfect. You spend your days in your plain white room in a plain white building attending to your studies with the hope of one day becoming someone important in the city. But all your dreams shatter on the floor when you're kidnapped by a group of strange rebels, promising that the life you've known is a lie, your perfect world is fake, and your safety is now jeopardized by the secrets you've uncovered.
(Fantasy/Dark Fantasy, Adventure, Horror, Folklore, Fairy Tales) The Woods have always been dark. They've always kept secrets, locked up tight between branches and thorns. But the air has shifted. People are drawn to them now, letting the strange shapes of the forest lure them in, never to return. You save a chance to save them all, but be careful. Nothing in the Woods is as it seems.
Of course, choosing any of these ideas would require the input and opinions of my leader/cos! If these ideas don't end up working for them and/or with our cabin, I would be more than happy to come up with a brand new idea within our team!
˚⋆˚⊹ ⁺｡° Excerpt
315 words
The sky was clear, but despite its lack of life I would’ve been more than happy to watch it for the rest of my days. It was an infinite serene ivory, stretching across what I could only assume was the entire world. The air was tinged with cold, but I didn’t mind. Any weather was a luxury.
One hundred generations. One hundred generations had lived and breathed, dying inside the same concrete box in which they were born.
Two thousand years of history, forty-five feet of solid concrete under the ground.
It was impossible to wrap my mind around. Two millenia, come and gone and I stood here now, my feet on solid ground, the first to see the sky.
It was not by choice, but if it had been I would’ve chosen it anyway. I had less than twenty minutes before my demise would surely arrive, but I would chop any amount of years off my life if it meant a moment to watch the infinite horizons.
“Get out!” she had screamed. And I had gone like the winds I had never felt. “You are a monster unburdened by your curse!”
And now I was a monster alone. Alone in a vast world, the sky turning every color I had ever seen as it grew darker. The sun fell out of sight, leaving the world silent in a deep grey-blue, tinged a fading orange where the sun had fallen away.
Even in darkness the sky was more beautiful than anyone could proclaim.
But a noise startled me from my thoughts, and my jaw fell slack as I turned to face what had been behind me the whole time I had been lost in emotion.
In the distance, I saw something I instantly recognized, despite the length between us.
In a world where everyone but us had been dead for multiple millenia, stood a tower.
☁︎‧₊˚* Time Dedication
During March, I’d reasonably be able to dedicate 2-3 hours per day to SWC and SWC-related activities, and more on weekends and during events. I have school from 7 am - 2 pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday! However, during my breaks, I could easily check in to chat with other people in the cabin, work on activities such as the daily or weekly, or add words and points in the main cabin! I currently don’t know the workload my studying or AP class will require, but it's one of the easier ones and I plan to regularly update my leader/cos about my commitment to my classes and school. During the days I do not have school, I try to spend upwards of three hours working on my art and YouTube channel. Between this and my other obligations, including rest, I believe this is a reasonable amount of time to spend on SWC per day!!
ᯤ ࣪ ˖ Time Management
Every single session as my skills grow, I find myself becoming better and better at managing my time effectively. The previous semester of the school year challenged me in a way that I think ultimately helped me to become much better at staying on task, finishing things on time, and working on projects consistently.
Skills:
- Fast working. Once I have sat down and decided to get something done, I enjoy challenging myself to complete it in as little time as possible–while being careful that I’m not sacrificing quality, creative input, or the opinions of others. I find this is extremely helpful when planning a cabin, as it gives us extra time between projects and deadlines to come up with new ideas or add to what’s already been created.
- Dedication. For the past couple of months, I’ve been spending between three and six hours a day working on my art and my YouTube channel! This project has challenged me in so many ways as I’ve practiced constantly dedicating myself fully to a project that has yet to see any payoff. I love working on fun and unique projects and having the chance to fully dedicate myself to them.
- Consistency. As mentioned in the previous example, I work towards my goals every single day! I believe consistency is one of the most important things on this list, and I’ve come a long way in my own consistency since July. I used to put things off until the last possible second, putting stress on myself or the people I was working with. Recently, due to the unique challenge of my YouTube videos, I’ve been learning to work on something consistently over a longer period to avoid putting pressure on myself and others and making that final payoff all the more satisfying.
Shortcomings:
- Consistency’s evil twin Procrastination. As someone who is easily distracted by whatever more interesting project comes my way or the variety of trinkets on my desk, procrastination often rules my life. While it’s sometimes helpful to put things off until the last minute just so my brain kicks into Motivation Mode™, it’s not worth the extra stress. One method I’ve found to counter this is timers :sparkles: I will set a timer for a certain amount of time and start working. This method has been genuinely so helpful and I know it will continue to help me out going forward.
- Lack of commitment. I find it incredibly difficult to work on projects I have little interest in, especially when the tasks are mundane or repetitive. This has hindered my progress in the past since I tend to try and make things more exciting for myself instead of accepting the task for what it is and working through it. Recently, I’ve been finding small but meaningful ways to make these a bit more fun without offsetting the progress that needs to be made with them.
⋆⁺₊❅. ⋆⁺₊❅. Collaboration + Assets
I absolutely love collaborating with others and working on projects with them. In both of my sessions leading, I had so much fun working with everyone to come up with fun and unique plotlines while we got to know each other!
Strength:
- I have a very positive and optimistic outlook on most situations, something I believe has helped me stay motivated throughout my projects. I love to encourage others and help them achieve whatever goal they are working towards while making sure to express my empathy for everyone and their unique situation.
- Being welcoming is hugely important, especially within our community here on Scratch! I always work my hardest to make sure everyone within the cabin, the leadership team, and the community as a whole feels welcomed, wanted, and valued. Kindness and respect go a long way, and it’s an easy way to have a large impact on someone’s life.
Weaknesses:
- I tend to be very opinionated. While I never let these opinions impact my view of others, I sometimes feel as if I’m talking over the people that I’m supposed to be working with. In this coming session, I’d like to take a step back and assess the opinions of my teammates before we come to a conclusion together!
- Unfortunately, my existing opinions do not mix well with my fear of making people upset or angry. I hate thinking of someone being upset with or mad at me, and it stresses me out a lot when I feel that they are—even when that’s not the case. Going forward, I am continuing to work on not taking things personally and being direct and open with communication.
Asset:
In addition to my strengths in collaboration, I feel there are other skills I can bring to a leadership team. These include:
- Digital art! As mentioned in my About Me, I have quite a fair bit of experience in digital art and I would love to do any sort of art for whatever cabin I am chosen to co/lead!
- Graphic design! I’ve been using Canva for years and I know the best fonts :sparkles:
- Storyline ideas! I lovelovelove coming up with a unique storyline each session with my leadership team! It’s so much fun to work from a simple concept to a fully fleshed-out cabin, and I have a lot of ideas I could contribute!
- Coding! I’m certainly not great at coding, but since I’ve been doing it for so long I feel I could help out my team with the coding aspects of co/leading a cabin!
. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ One Quality
There are a ton of qualities I think are important to have as a leader and I always try to embody them as much as possible—but if I had to choose just one, it would be determination! I consider myself to be incredibly determined–and while this sometimes leads to me taking on too many projects solely to prove I can do it, I love working on bigger projects and powering through to the end. As a co/leader, I would use this to dedicate myself fully to coming up with a unique cabin storyline and plan, stay engaged throughout the session, and keep up with my leadership responsibilities! I deeply value the commitment and determination of others, and I think it is a hugely important trait for a leader to have. I’m always working to make myself the most determined person I can be!
﹢﹒ ✦⊹﹒ Cabin Atmosphere
An energetic and competitive cabin with a focus on our complex storyline. Make friends, solve puzzles, and accomplish your goals while we fight our way to first place!
167 characters
₊˚⊹♡ Checkboxes, 10B & 10C
√ I will add points in the main cabin
√ I am willing to share a promotional project for SWC
B: No, I am positive I can complete them all.
C: In the case of my own inactivity, I would inform my co/leaders as well as the hosts as soon as I was aware. If the situation allowed it, I would check in frequently and assist with whatever I could during my absence, giving updates as to how long I would be gone and working within the team to make the temporary transfer of responsibilities as smooth as possible. It’s important to get projects, cabin planning, and other responsibilities out of the way as early on as possible–that way, if someone ends up going inactive or needing to leave, most obligations have been taken care of prior! If it was the absence of another member of the leadership team, I would inform the hosts and the other leader/cos of the situation. We would try to find another way to reach them if possible, and if all else fails, we would find a solution that works and supports all of the remaining members—this could involve finding a new co or transferring their responsibilities.
⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪⋆✴︎˚｡⋆ Notes and Credits
thank you for taking the time to view my application, i wish everyone the best of luck and i know March will be absolutely amazing, regardless of results, as always with this wonderful community <3
credits <3 ✮⋆˙
── .✦ the swc community for being awesome <3 ⋆.˚ ᡣ?
── .✦ hosties for hosting ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗
── .✦ bookie, chuey, livy, skylar and mouse for critiquing my app answers ⋆˙⟡♡ thank you guys so much!!
── .✦ me for the answers, art, coding and characters ✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ˙⋆✶
── .✦ music is Natlan Live Symphony from Genshin Impact ִֶָ ☆⊹ ִֶָ it's absolutely stunning, please give it a listen if you have time (and shoutout to luka for downloading it for me) <3
── .✦ coolsymbols.com for the symbols and fonts ☄︎₊˚⊹☆
cat ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
yes i went overboard with the little aesthetic symbols and fonts ajakdkakdkajaj LOOK AT THE CAT ITS ADORABLE
Last edited by Zyzeryko (Jan. 18, 2025 07:09:58)
- ChueyTheCat
-
Scratcher
500+ posts
swc megathread ⌕ nov 2024
formatting in progress!nice section here! i don't have anything to suggest other than deleting “as well” in the above sentence and replacing it with “other” in between “few” and “hobbies.” this is just a suggestion ofc, but it might help the sentence flow a little better
about me
Hello there! I’m Kenzie (she/her), your local homeschooled Christian high-schooler located in the land of CST! This coming session will be my eighth session, which means I’ve been in SWC for over two years (two more sessions until I’ve been in SWC for double digits!).
If you don’t know me, I’ve been described as kind and mature many times. I consider myself an avid bookworm, although unfortunately I haven’t had much time to read nowadays due to being busy.
One of the biggest things that has shaped me into who I am is my faith. I’m a devoted Christian! Being raised in a family that went to church every Sunday, I eventually brought it home with me. In 2022, I was baptized. As I’m writing this I have been reading through the whole Bible for the first time. I love talking about my faith with others, so you can come to me with anything faith related.
I’m also a bookworm! My favorite genres to read are fantasy and Christian fiction, but I’m always open to new books. I also write whenever I get the chance, something I’ve been doing since 2021. One of my New Year’s resolutions this year is to write a book.
A few hobbies that I enjoy doing as well include learning math, playing with my dogs, reading, writing, playing volleyball, and studying the Bible.
experiencei'd insert a “however” or a similar word before “if the” since otherwise it's a bit jarring.
As mentioned before, this upcoming session will be my eighth session! I have been a camper six times, a co-leader once, and a leader once. I have also helped on the memory book committee once and the daily team once. I’ve been in every session from November 2022 till November 2024.
Here’s a full guide of each session that I have been in!
November 2022 || Fan-fi Time Travel Agency || Camper
March 2023 || Thriller Escape Room || Camper
July 2023 || Dystopian Spy Society || Camper
November 2023 || Horror Funhouse || Camper
March 2024 || Dystopian Ruins || Co-leader, MBC Member, and Daily Team member.
July 2024 || Fantasy Chocolate Factory || Camper
November 2024 || Hi-Fi Museum (TCTWNW) || Leader
For all of the Scratch camps I’ve been in including SWC, I’ve been a camper 41 times, a co-leader four times, a leader twice, and a host three times. I’ve been in a total of 27 different camps over the past two years.
Outside of Scratch, I’ve had many leadership opportunities in real life. Currently I serve at my church in the 1st Grade room and I do multimedia in our second venue. I'm also a greeter and leader of a small group of 6 girls ages 7-13 at a Christian organization similar to Girl Scouts.
In the past, I’ve volunteered at a church camp for two weeks and learned important teamwork skills, I’ve gotten over 400 service hours in the past three years, I’ve babysat for eight different families, I’ve led at two different campouts, I’ve led a small project of painting wooden boxes for a campout, and I’ve taken a study skills class that taught me some important time management and teamwork skills.
Genres
I am fine with leading any cabin except fan-fi, thriller, dystopian, horror, fantasy, or hi-fi since I have already been in them. If the opportunity did come up to (co)lead one of them, I would still be happy to.
I would really love to lead mystery, fairy tales, or steampunk (no specific order). I’d like to lead real-fi, sci-fi, apocalyptic, script, contemporary, poetry, or fairy tales if the opportunity comes up. For personal reasons, I’d prefer not to lead paranormal or bangsian.here, i'd change the numbers either to all numerals or all words, since it looks inconsistent when there's a mix of both
Since I led TCTWNW last session, I would prefer not to lead it this session.
excerpt
“I love your enthusiastic and energetic energy,” my best friend Briar said to me. She was the introvert and I was the extrovert. Normally, people called me ‘Annoying Amber’ because I was so loud and energetic.
For weeks my other friend Millie had been trying to convince me to audition for the play we were going to be doing, Annie. She said I’d be perfect for the role, but I wasn’t really sure.
I walked my way over to the lunch line, today was pizza. After grabbing a slice of pepperoni pizza, I saw Millie waving out of the corner of my eye.
“Amber!” she yelled, “Come sit with me and my friends!”
I redirected my path to her table. She sat with the theater kids, a mixture of girls and boys in theater class. She introduced me to her friends, and we talked a little bit.
“Amber, you should audition for Annie! You look just like her, and I think you will love theater,” she exclaimed.
I wasn’t really sure if theater was my thing, but I found myself walking to the drama room after school. It was a big room, with a stage against the wall that was huge, big enough to host lots of plays.
I went over to the signup sheet, and put down my name. Millie smiled so brightly when she saw me, she waved me on over to where she was sitting and we waited.
Ten minutes later, the drama teacher, Mrs. Gatewood called my name. Millie gave me an encouraging thumbs up, and I went up to the stage. It was nerve wracking, having judges staring right at me and the light of the spotlight. I sang and acted a few lines, when finally my turn was up.
The judges had said that we were free to leave once we were done so I left.
A few days later, I arrived at school a little early because the audition results were out. Lots of kids were crowded around the board, trying to see if they would be on the list.
Slowly, I made my way to the front. I couldn’t possibly make a big role, right? But when I glanced at the board, right in the lead role, was my name, Amber Hastings.
Dedication
On an average day, I should be able to dedicate 2-3 hours to SWC. I may only be able to dedicate 30 minutes to two hours on Mondays and Fridays.
I will have limited access on February 22nd since I’ll be leading an event and I might only be able to be on for an hour or two. Other than that, there aren’t any dates to my knowledge in February or March that should affect my activity levels. If something does come up, I’ll make sure to let my (co)leaders and the hosts know.i'd reword the sentence “when it comes to time management…etc” something like this: “time management is something i've improved in over 2024” since several of the rest
Time Management
When it comes to time management, that’s one of the things I’ve improved over 2024. I took a study skills class just last fall where I learned some time management skills.
My first strength is prioritization. When it comes to which task to do next, I make sure to prioritize important ones tasks (school, chores, etc.) over less important ones (the book I’m reading, the SWC daily, etc.). This skill is helpful when it comes to IRL > SWC or even what cabin task to do next.i'd combine the two sentences above, since the second sentence is a fragment.
I’m also very good at scheduling. Usually, the night before I like to make a simple schedule in my head for the next day. And using my daily to-do list as well, that makes it easy to seperate separate my day into chunks. Sometimes my schedule falls through or gets messed up, but I try to jump back as quickly as I can.
Efficiency is important when it comes to completing tasks. I make sure that all of the steps are done and all requirements are met before submitting the task.
One of my weaknesses when it comes to time management is procrastination, something that most SWCers deal with. I’ve recognized that this is a bad habit, and to deal with it I use my strengths of prioritization and scheduling.
I also struggle with focusing on the current task. Sometimes things like Scratch or my phone are big distractions and make me take longer to complete the task. I’ve been learning about myself and how I focus best. Usually, I’ll wear headphones and put on music, set aside distractions, and work at the time of day when I work best.
When I work on a task for too long, sometimes I get burnt out. Which means I won’t have motivation to work on the task for a while.
What I’ve been doing to combat this is to know my limits, take breaks, and schedule my time effectively so that there is a mixture of what I’m doing.okay! this was a really good app, and i only have a few closing notes. first, try to make sure your sentences are flowing well. reading them out loud can help with this - does your tongue stumble anywhere? if it does, consider rearranging some words to smooth things out.
Collaboration
Creativity is an important strength when it comes to collaboration. I’m easily able to come up with lots of ideas, or even add onto current ones.
I’m very organized. I have all of my writing organized in my google docs, my desk is usually neat, and I have a to-do list for everything. Last time when I was a leader, the main post for our planning forum was filled with all sorts of things like a schedule, to-do list, and more!
I struggle with balancing tasks sometimes or even irl life and SWC. What I will do to help this is try and find someone or something that will hold me accountable or find some way to easily manage my time.
Perfectionism comes in different forms for me, from when I’m writing to when I’m cleaning. One thing that I’ve noticed it affects is when others do things and it doesn’t fit how I imagined it. I’ve been working on accepting that it won’t turn out how I want it too. I also give feedback when necessary.
For assets, I can provide my creativity, graphic design skills, coding skills, leadership experience, willingness to help, and writing skills!
One Quality
One quality that I embody is that I am welcoming! I’m friendly to everyone and I make sure everyone feels welcome and safe. I’ve been told that I’m easy to talk with and that I’m comforting. I’ll apply this to leadership in SWC by making sure new (co)leaders feel welcome, old and new campers feel welcome, and everyone in between! If anyone has questions, I’ll do my best to answer.
Atmosphere
A welcoming, competitive cabin that focuses on cabin bonding, writing skills, interaction with the storyline, and helping campers meet their goals.
(148 characters)
Checkboxes
A:
I will be available to help add points consistently in the main cabin throughout camp.
I’m willing to share a promotional project for SWC.
B: Are there any leadership responsibilities listed in the FAQ that you will not be able to complete? If any, please elaborate.
No
C: In the case of inactive leadership (either by yourself or a fellow leader), what steps will you take to ensure that the cabin can still move on smoothly?
If I have to go inactive for a long period of time, I will notify the hosts, my (co)leaders, and my cabin members. I’ll make sure to transfer studio ownership (if I’m the host of any studios) if possible to one of my (co)leaders. I’ll also make sure that any tasks assigned to me can either be finished by me or a (co)leader on time. If I am unable to finish any tasks, I will give the tasks to my (co)leaders to complete.
If one of my (co)leaders goes inactive, I’ll try reaching out to them and if I don’t get a response back in three days I will make new studios or projects, if needed. I’ll also reassign their tasks to myself and my other (co)leaders so that they can get completed. If the (co)leader doesn’t return in 10 days, I’ll find a replacement (co)leader if my (co)leaders and I think it’s needed.
Bonus Question: If you were to build a train route to any one place in the world, where would it be and why?
I would build a train route to my old state that I lived in, so that I could visit with those friends again.
second, make sure you don't have any run-ons or fragments - i didn't do an extensive check for these but it's always best to do at least a quick one to catch any that might have slipped in.
that's all i have - this was a pretty short critique, but i hope it helps! best of luck on your app <33
also sorry if i sound super blunt TwT i was trying to get it done quickly and the quicker i write the dryer my tone gets
Last edited by ChueyTheCat (Jan. 18, 2025 17:30:19)
- ChueyTheCat
-
Scratcher
500+ posts
swc megathread ⌕ nov 2024
critique time! throughout this app, i've utilized my new method of using strikethroughs and italics to make suggestions, so keep an eye out for those
(i recently roped a friend into reading it ) great section here! i don't have any suggestions to write here
keep up the good work, and good luck!
✦ city builder — swc leader app march 2025
2,456 words (with excerpt) ✦ 2,017 words (without excerpt) ✦ project version
✦ question one — 237 wordsTHE LUNAR CHRONICLES <33 i love that series
Tell us about yourself! Please include your nickname, pronouns, and optionally, timezone.
Hello viewers of this forum post or players of this minigame! I'm Alex (she/her), an almost 14 year-old girl, resident of Argentina (ART timezone), and lover of Oxford commas. If you can't find me, I'm probably in my room by myself coding, reading, learning about flags, playing The Sims 4 for a likely unhealthy amount of time, or doomscrolling through Tumblr or Youtube Shorts. I can also be found wearing my headphones for hours on end, most likely looping through Taylor Bickett's or Gracie Abrams’ discography (as I'm doing right now while I speedrun my app). On the rare occasion I go outside, it's probably for a swim or a walk around my neighborhood.
Since I'm from Argentina, my native language is Spanish, but as you can see, I'm also fluent in English — which is largely SWC's doing. A personal goal for this summer is to learn French, since I recently got into a bilingual school that teaches it as a third language, and I'm two years behind. Still, I'm excited to catch up since I enjoy learning new things or and knowing random fun facts.
My favorite TV show is Brooklyn Nine-Nine - even though I haven't finished it yet, I just know it is. As for books, my favorite series is The Lunar Chronicles, but I've heard a lot about Six of Crows and I've recently started it, so we'll see if it tops TLC ;>
(i recently roped a friend into reading it ) great section here! i don't have any suggestions to write here✦ question two — 182 words
Have you previously participated in SWC? If so, in which roles? In either case, what experience do you have with writing and/or leadership positions on and off Scratch?
Yes, I have participated in SWC before. In fact, I've been in every session since July 2021 for a total of 11 consecutive sessions. Over that time, I've led a cabin once, co-led five times, and been a camper five times as well.
✦
I wrote some stories before I joined SWC, but it was ultimately here that I started taking it more seriously and doing it more often. My mom, who is a Literature teacher, has also been a big influence on me — she often shares her knowledge about writing elements and techniques with me. Additionally, I started journaling a few months back, and I've found it's a great way to get a ton of words and cheat the SWC system i've been using strikethroughs but these are yours, not mine, so don't delete this by accident lol it's beautiful), I mean, a great way to release my thoughts and organize them.
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I'm used to leading or directing groups in things like school projects, and I often take care of my two younger sisters. I'm eager to take up some new extracurriculars this year that can help me build my leadership a bit more, such as Model United Nations or debate.
✦ question three — 320 words
What cabins would you prefer to lead? This may be any pre-existing cabin genre, or potential new cabins. Please also include how you feel about (co)leading TCTWNW.
I keep a note with a bunch of cabin ideas, but these are my two main concepts. Of course, I would be honored to lead any cabin :]
✦ Stranded in the Mountains: Potentially Adventure, Thriller, or Mystery, this is my top pick because it has more potential possibilities for action, plot twists, and storyline progression. In this cabin, campers and leaders are survivors of an accident in the snow. The ultimate storyline goal is to be rescued, but meanwhile, the participants need to complete different challenges, such as find food, somewhere to sleep, or light a fire. The campers have to complete different writing or self-care tasks or activities to progress the storyline.
Depending on the genre, there could be different plot twists — for example, if it's Thriller or Mystery, one of the leaders could betray the cabin at some point, or secretly be the reason of their accident. This could be discovered later in the session, after the campers are more comfortable with the leaders.
(Step one: Gain their trust.
Step two: Betrayal >:])
✦ Cottage/Farm: With a genre similar to Real-Fi or even something like Children's Literature. Campers and leaders are in charge of a farm and they take care of it every day. They are divided into 2-3 groups or roles, such as farmers, mechanics, or animal caretakers, and each would have different farm-related tasks and responsibilities and function as a word-count group. All of the farm resources and elements are sustained by the campers, and there would be some “events” along the session such as going to the market and selling produce or fixing broken items. The success of the farm would depend on the collaboration and teamwork among the cabin.
✦
I’m okay with leading The Cabin That Will Not Win, but I'd rather have it for the second idea (Farm/Cottage) because it's more relaxed, and the first one (Stranded in the Mountains) would be more fast-paced and storyline-dependent.
✦ question four — 439 words with A/N, 375 words without A/N
Please provide an excerpt of your writing. It can be in any form - use what you believe represents your style the best.
A/N: This little piece is something I made rather recently, with the prompt “why do you like writing?”. It started as a reflection of my own journey as a writer, but it quickly transformed into its own narrative. This is a character's voice, not mine, and these are their own experiences; though I suspect most of you will relate to some part of this, hehe.
✦
My family and friends never get what I do. They don’t get why I spend hours a day glued to my computer, why I spend hours researching on baby name websites or why I “torture” myself trying to write 50,000 words in just one month. They don’t know why I do this, why I enjoy this, why I got into this, or —most importantly, in their eyes— why I didn’t “pick something that actually makes money”. I still remember that argument at the dinner table. I still remember the dozens of times they’d seen me stuck on a single chapter, not understanding why I couldn’t “just end it there”.
I stare at the empty doc page, thinking about all of the sentences I’ve backspaced today. I sigh, trying to focus.
Truth is, if they actually cared to look into it, if they tried, maybe they would’ve understood. Writing is the only way I’m able to express what I never had, what I want to have, and even some things I’m thankful for not having.
I shift my eyes away from the screen for just a moment. A crumpled up letter still sits in all the chaos of my desk.
While my classmates only thought of writing as something they need to do to pass their English class, for me it’s a gateway to fantasy worlds, alternate realities in which I’m the only one responsible for choosing what happens next. In the universes I craft, nothing can stop me. I can play a thousand different parts, narrate a thousand different situations, and create a thousand different setups, plot points, and resolutions.
I replay the message in my head, word by word, one more time. “We appreciate your submission, but unfortunately, it’s not quite what we’re looking for at the moment.”
Most of the time I’m not in control of these timelines, though. Once I establish who, where, what, when, why and how, the story is no longer mine. It’s my characters’. They have personalities, they have dimension, they have motivations, they have life. They take their own decisions and control their own lives. They often surprise me.
I throw away the problematic and wrinkled piece of paper. My fingers hover over the keys, the inspiration strikes.
✦ question five — 141 words
What amount of time do you expect to be able to dedicate to SWC? What plans do you have that could affect your activity?
For the rest of January and the first half of February, I expect to be able to dedicate at least 2 to 3 hours per day, since I'm on summer break. However, my school year begins on February 14th, and my free time will decrease significantly. I’ll leave my house early in the morning and be back at around 7pm my time, and between that, studying, and trying to maintain a somewhat healthy sleep schedule (let’s go, healthy sleep!! Ignore that I’m literally writing this at 12:30am), I am going commit to dedicating around an hour every schoolday and at least two hours on Sundays.
✦
I’m mostly not online on Saturdays due to religious reasons. I do not have any prominent plans apart from this, but if anything comes up, I’ll make sure to let the hosts and/or fellow leaders know.
✦ question six — 376 words
What are your skills and shortcomings in time management?
— Skills
▸ Organization: I love having a set schedule or routine for everything and using spreadsheets, calendars, alarms, to-do lists, color-coding, and similar tools. I’m good at planning, choosing what to prioritize, and ensuring everything is in place, which helps a lot in managing my time and keeping myself accountable. (If you only saw how many to-do lists I made for this app xD)
▸ Pressure: I work well under pressure, as I hate missing deadlines or turning something in late. I stay focused and the sense of urgency makes me work efficiently, but without rushing.
✦
— Shortcomings
▸ Procrastination: As many SWC’ers SWCers do, in many cases I find myself avoiding my tasks or putting them off until the last day (as I did with this app…). As I mentioned above, I work well under pressure, so even when I procrastinate, I usually get things done - but of course, some things slip, so I’m actively working to stop procrastinating and work on my tasks earlier.
▸ Time estimation: I often underestimate how long tasks will take. Here I am writing answers at 6pm when I estimated to have shared my application by 5 xD This mostly doesn’t cause major problems, but I’m gonna work on it guys I promise-
✦
— Double-edged swords: a small section added by me for those traits that are really good :) but also really bad :(
▸ Hyperfocus: When I set my mind to a task, I don’t like being interrupted or having to take a break. This is is a strength when I need a distraction-free environment, but many times I end up neglecting my own needs in order to finish a task. For example, yesterday I told my parents I wasn’t hungry for dinner, but I only said it because I was hyperfocused on coding part of this application and I really wanted to finish it (don’t worry guys I finished like 2 minutes later and I ate dinner - I’m so good at taking care of myself, trust /lh).
▸ Perfectionism: I hold extremely high standards for myself and I struggle with being satisfied with my work. This is also a double-edged sword because high standards are good for ensuring quality, but they also make me overthink what I’ve done and delay tasks since I constantly think there’s stuff I can improve.
✦ question seven — 291 words
What are your strengths and weaknesses in working with others? What assets would you bring to a leading team?
— Strengths
▸ Good communication: I approach every conversation, including disagreements, with calmness, and respect, and an open mind. I make sure everyone’s perspectives, opinions, and ideas are considered and I remind them how valued their input is.
▸ Problem-solving: Whenever I face a challenge, my brain instinctively starts thinking about possible solutions and outcomes. I approach problems with both creativity and practicality in order to resolve them efficiently, even in overwhelming or difficult situations.
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— Weaknesses
▸ People-pleasing: I struggle saying “no” and setting boundaries, and I worry a lot about the impression I will leave on others after doing or saying something, even if it’s the smallest thing small. I put others’ wants or needs before my own because I’m afraid of rejection or people being disappointed in me. However, I’m learning to be more confident in my own opinions and actually communicating them. This comes easier if I’m in an environment I trust or feel comfortable in, like this very camp <3
▸ Low confidence: This is closely related to my perfectionism. I tend to think very little of my own work and ideas and compare them to others’, which makes me reluctant to share them. Similar to my people-pleasing, when I become more at ease, I also become a bit more confident in my abilities.
✦
— Double-edged sword
▸ Conflicts: As a people-pleaser, I avoid conflict at all costs- and while that means I’m a pretty good mediator and peacekeeper, it also means that I will go along with others’ opinions instead of justifying or defending my own.
✦
There are a variety of assets I’d bring to the leading team, including coding, empathy, creativity, good listening, graphic design, fun, chaos, support, appreciation, organization, and positivity. These assets allow me to contribute both in creative, cabin-related aspects and friendly or emotional aspects.
✦ question eight — 195 words
What is one quality you think you embody and how can you apply this to leadership in SWC?
Although I had many possible qualities for this question (such as resilience, responsibility, and commitment), I’ve ultimately decided to go with passion. I embody passion because I am eager, enthusiastic and energetic (whoa look all those adjectives start with an E), and I give my best effort in everything I do. An example of this is how I can’t stop joining SWC - I’m really passionate about this community, and it’s been one of the best experiences I’ve had so far.
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It’s important for leaders to be passionate about their cabins because not only does that drive you to put in an effort to succeed, but it shows others that you’re excited (I cannot escape the E adjectives, huh?) and creates a ripple effect of encouragement and motivation. Besides, if you’re not passionate about your own cabin, who will be? /j
As a leader, I’d demonstrate this quality by making sure that the care and thought I’ve put into my cabin shines through, either through the fun activities, the engaging storyline, or simply by bonding and promoting a sense of belonging. I want to make my cabin a memorable experience by bringing the whole group together.
✦ question nine — 198 characters
What cabin atmosphere do you aim to create?
This cabin will be activity-heavy, prioritizing bonding, teamwork, fun, and the storyline before focusing on competition and rankings, but campers are welcome to take part in any aspect they prefer.
✦ question ten — 169 words
a. Check all that apply:
☑ I will be available to help add points in the main cabin consistently throughout camp.
☑ I'm willing to share a promotional project for SWC.
b. Are there any leadership responsibilities listed in the FAQ you cannot complete? If any, please elaborate.
No, I believe myself capable of completing everything listed <3
c. In the case of inactive leadership (either by yourself or by a fellow leader), what steps will you take to ensure that the cabin can still move on smoothly?
— If I go inactive: Whether it’s planned or unexpected, I’d make sure to inform other leaders of my cabin and the hosts about any period of inactivity. I’d do my best to complete tasks, transfer ownerships, share resources and delegate responsibilities before stepping away. During the inactivity period, I’d try check in and lend a hand whenever I can, and once I’m back, help with catching up if needed.
— If a fellow leader goes inactive: First, I would try reaching out to them to see if there’s anything I can help with, and wait a few days in case they are busy. If the inactivity continues, I would let the hosts know about it and discuss with the active leader about the delegation of tasks, such as making a back-up word count studio or modifying the storyline accordingly. Finally, if the leader is still inactive, I’d consider selecting a new leader, taking into account the active leader's input.
✦ question eleven — 65 wordsokay!! this was an amazing app and i really enjoyed reading through it <3 i don't have any ending notes other than you wrote a fantastic app
If you were to build a train route to any one place in the world, where would it be, and why?
I love exploring national parks and seeing different landscapes, and while the world has a lot of amazing nature scenery, I’m going to give this one to Norway :> I’d set up a train route traveling through some of the northernmost cities, stopping by parks and fjords along the way. It’d be extra-special since it would be my first time seeing snow and the Northern Lights :D
keep up the good work, and good luck!Last edited by ChueyTheCat (Jan. 18, 2025 17:50:22)
- cceaneyes
-
Scratcher
100+ posts
swc megathread ⌕ nov 2024
LEADER APP MARCH 2025
About Me
Heyy! I’m Willow (she/her), your average Australian teenager with a love for storytelling and music. Whenever I’m not at school or occupied with housework, you’ll find me with headphones listening to music or reading a book in the corner of my room. I’m a total band kid, who also is in love with the art of debate.
If you already know me or can tell by this theme, it may be obvious that I can’t live without music, whether I play it or listen to it. I play the trombone and many other instruments like guitar and piano! Some of my favourite musicians include Billie Eilish, Lana del Rey, Gracie Abrams, Sabrina Carpenter, FINNEAS, The Cranberries, and Olivia Rodrigo. And I’m so fortunate to go see Billie’s concert in a month!
My undying love for writing has stemmed from stories. And it’s all thanks to my mum, who read me stories nightly as a child. Reading is second nature for me, and I could not live without it. Books are so expensive now that it makes me want to cry… my favourite books include The Hunger Games, Schindler’s List, AGGGTM and The Outsiders! Some of my favourite TV series include Gilmore Girls, Fringe, Buffy, Stranger Things and Locke & Key.
One of my hobbies is debating as I debate competitively which is super fun. I also love art, which is another creative output for me, but I prefer creating it on my own terms rather than on school assignments. Is that just me or is that normal? Anyway, that’s just a little about me, and other than that I love talking with people so feel free to say hi!
Experience
SWC has been a part of my life for nearly 4 years now, teaching me new skills that I apply both in real life and in SWC. I’ve been in the roles of Leader, Co-leader and Camper, and know the requirements of each. Aside from SWC, I have participated in many roles in camps across scratch, from hosting SAC to ghosting SRC to co/leading in SAC, SRC and SAC, and campering in many more.
Here is a compiled list of the sessions I’ve been in and my roles:
November 2024 - Fantasy - Co-Leader (daily team)
July 2024 - Non-Fiction - Co-Leader (daily team)
March 2024 - Tragedy - Co-Leader (daily team)
November 2023 - Steampunk - Co-Leader (daily team)
July 2023 - Illu-Fi - Camper (late signup)
March 2023 - Sci-Fi - Co-Leader (MBC)
November 2022 - Fan-Fiction - Leader (MBC)
July 2022 - Fan-Fiction - Co-Leader (MBC, Workshop Writer)
March 2022 - Mythology - Camper
November 2021 - Poetry - Camper
July 2021 - Fairy Tales - Camper
March 2021 - Dystopian - Camper
November 2020 - Adventure - Camper
Outside of SWC, I have both writing and leadership experience, and I’m always looking for more experience to grow and learn. Recently, I’ve been in a leadership role as a part of a school charity, in which I organise drives and initiatives for my school to take part in alongside 4 other people in different year levels. Whilst I had this role, I successfully increased participation in the charity at my year level significantly. Other roles I’ve held include class captain, year-level representative, debate captain and band captain. These experiences have enabled me to understand leadership and what it entails. I’m also placed in the highest writing class at school and have received a high distinction in writing (1% in Australia). I also debated competitively and in 2024 reached the finals alongside my team.
Preferences
I’ll be honoured to (co)lead any cabin! But, I have some top preferences and would prefer not to be in a cabin I’ve been a part of before. Now that that’s said, without further ado here are my cabin preferences and ideas for them!
Mystery and Gothic - These cabins would be my top preferences. I’ve dreamt of leading a cabin that’s set in a grand and elegant masquerade. But of course, with a twist. The host of the party would suddenly disappear but it’s up to the campers to figure out what happened, whether someone took the host, or they left themselves… or maybe it’s all a part of something bigger (hint, hint). It would be a massive game of clue and would be super interactive. I’d also like to use some ideas from past cabins I've co-led such as elements from Fantasy (Nov ‘24) and how we did the system for unlocking part of the storyline mixed with a similar method from Fan-Fi (July ‘22). I’d also love to include some interactive projects some similar to Fantasy. Finally, I would like to include tasks in the storyline that include discussion like Non-Fi, for example when campers are discussing what happened.
Other genres I’d love to lead would be Solarpunk, Horror, Folklore, Hi-Fi and Fairy Tales. I would prefer to lead a competitive cabin, but I am open to co/leading tctwnw.
Excerpt
(excerpt from a short story based on my great grandma's time in world war 2)
It happened when the screams started, louder than an emergency siren itself—screams that caused my mother to cut my neck, whilst cutting my hair off. And, as the —- from my neck fell like the tears that tumbled down my cheeks, gvn sh0ts echoed in the distance as if thunder was booming. The salty drops fell into my open mouth, as my brother’s old patchwork clothes were thrown at me.
It was when my screams started that I was lifted into the air, and forced into a vehicle, with my grandmother and uncle. My parents and brother were thrown into another.
A clammy hand covered my innocent eyes. Shielding them from the horrors, taking place on the other side of the car’s windows. For a moment, everything was silent. Like before a storm, but then a car, not the one I was in, but the one behind had stopped. The hand, once my shield, was no longer protecting me, instead it was covering my grandmother’s mouth.
My parents, Elijah,
were lost in a crowd of soldiers gathered around their car, stolen from me. That was the first time I ever saw Ma cry. My grandmother had never cried before, yet she still tried to hide it. All for me. How am I worth protecting? I’m a girl, I’ll be taken. Or worse. Disguising as a boy helps with that, but I’m still judged, all because I’m a girl. And even worse, all my hope now lies in the ashes of what was once my home.
Time Dedication
Throughout January and February, I’ll be able to dedicate a lot of time to SWC.. I am on school holidays for nearly the entire month of January (except the 29th and onwards). This allows me to devote a lot of time to planning before camper signups are released. February would be the start of a new school year for me so the first few days would be somewhat busy but I wouldn’t have many exams or anything that could cause inactivity. Overall, I am confident I can dedicate at least 1-3 hours per day in January and 1-2.5 hours in February to SWC.
March (session month!!) would unfortunately be my busiest month, but I am confident I can still be active in SWC. My main commitments would include school and band. The start of the month would be the time I have the most dedicated, which would be 1-2.5 hours a day. However, in the last week of the month, I may have exams.I have no way of knowing when exams will be (as the assessment calendars are not released yet). Nevertheless, I am aware of the responsibilities that come with a leadership position and I still believe I can dedicate much time to SWC, at least 1 hour and at most 2 hours.
If anything were to come up that could sadly cause inactivity I would first notify my (co)leaders and then hosts if necessary. I do understand the time and dedication it takes to be a leader and the responsibilities that come with it. I believe I can actively carry them all out. In November, I had some life issues that caused me to be inactive throughout some of the session, but in March, I know that I will aim to be more active in SWC and carry out responsibilities whilst still following the life > SWC rule. I will be able to regularly update word counts as well as carry out other tasks within SWC.
Time Management
Skills
Organisation: This past year I’ve been focusing on creating schedules and to-do lists to help me delegate tasks. I used to procrastinate a lot before, and while I still do, these lists have helped me fix the problem, When I organise my time wisely I find that I complete more of my tasks quicker. I also find that organising my to-do lists in order of importance helps, as I can prioritise more urgent tasks, which helps me meet deadlines! In SWC, I utilise this skill by creating schedules and to-do lists with dates in cabin planning, which some of my past leaders have done (i find it makes planning way easier!)"
Efficiency: I love being efficient: not only does it help me finish tasks but it helps me do more in a shorter amount of time! Which I love because then in cabin planning we can use it for other exciting tasks. Being efficient also means that all of the time spent is worth it and nothing is wasted. It also helps sort tasks by priority as it focuses me to first complete the urgent tasks and then tasks that are less urgent. To achieve efficiency, I take breaks to make sure I don’t burn out or lose focus as taking breaks allows me to reset. In SWC, I utilise this skill in cabin planning to complete tasks in a fast amount of time which in turn benefits the cabin’s leadership team, and of course, it helps me complete the more important ones first.
Shortcomings
Perfectionism: Whilst sometimes this can be a skill, in the time management area it isn’t… well not for me anyway. My need for perfectionism is actually why I started using schedules and to-do lists more. I want to perfect everything and get it done to the best of my abilities, whilst this is partially great it isn’t good for meeting deadlines. Most times I do meet them, sometimes I only just meet them. Last session, I believe I actually put this in skills, but I’ve now realised that it can be a shortcoming for the following reasons. My perfectionism also leads to overcommitment, because I don’t want to say no for fear of disappointing my co-leaders, I’ve now come to realise that I was being silly and that they won’t be disappointed to fix my overcommitment (on tasks). At the start of cabin planning, I aim to divide tasks equally. To improve, I aim to set more realistic goals for myself and teach myself that nothing can be too perfect. I’ve also started to implement timers (which is what helps me stay on schedule) and I’ve tested this on tasks such as cleaning my room.
Collaboration & Assets
Strengths
Flexibility: I can adapt to a variety of situations and issues and I can deal with any curve balls thrown my way! I’m used to dealing with a majority of issues in many different situations and can easily adapt to solve them. Furthermore, I deal with challenges with an open mind and listen to a diverse range of ideas. I am also flexible around time management and co-leader schedules, as I can easily adjust mine to tackle issues and challenges. Flexibility also helps me to be efficient, for example, if a certain approach isn’t working, I’ll be open to trying a new one! Moreover, if something unexpected happens, I’ll work with co-leaders to find a workaround then together we’ll apply it.
Accountability: I take responsibility for my tasks and commitments and will complete them. Moreover, I’ll openly share my progress on tasks and share if I am struggling with something, as it is better, to be honest, and have integrity than to hide something - that I’ve learnt in previous sessions! I find that owning up to things is a strength as for some it’s hard to do, and it can show great benefits, such as creating a stronger level of trust between me and my co-leaders. I would encourage my co-leaders to also take accountability, by telling them it’s ok to struggle with a task and showing them how it’s a good skill. The atmosphere that I plan to have in my cabin would also support this, as it would be supportive and full of trust. Taking responsibility for my tasks also helps me reach deadlines, and accountability between (co)leaders can end with great benefits such as completed tasks, and encouraging communication creating a supportive environment!
Weaknesses
Saying No: It may seem silly, but I hate saying no. Whilst this may stem from being a people-pleaser, sometimes I feel like I’m not doing enough, so I take on more than I eventually struggle with finishing my tasks on time. However, in this session I plan to delegate tasks evenly at the start of cabin planning, to reduce the chance of becoming overcommitted. As I mentioned before I will be transparent in my progress in tasks and will encourage my co-leaders too as well - by doing this we’d also be able to offer support to one another with their task!
Confrontation: I’m afraid of confrontation too… yes Willow, stop being silly! Sometimes I am scared to address an issue with my leadership team for, example asking about a task, or even admitting that I’m struggling on a task! I’m afraid of them being judgemental… don’t worry guys I know no one in SWC would do that, it’s just me overthinking things! Anyways confrontation for me increases my stress which leads to burnout, so this session I’m aiming to change that. I’ll be changing my mindset about confrontation, looking at it with a positive outlook and being more transparent with my co-leaders.
Assets
Positivity & Support: I think of myself as supportive and positive, I aim to foster an environment where campers and co-leaders are happy to talk to me about issues. I also bring positivity and motivation to cabin planning to make it an enjoyable experience! I’ll also make it clear that I’m here to support anyone if they need it, whether it is with a task in SWC or just stress in general. I make sure to bring positivity to each session, and hope it makes it a memorable experience for campers and (co)leaders alike!
Experience: I’ve been in over twelve SWC sessions before, and have held the positions of camper, co-leader and leader. I know the responsibilities of each role and the effort you need to dedicate. I aim to use my experience to teach others, especially those who have not led before, and I will always be there to support them! I’ve experienced many different situations while(co)leading in SWC, both good and bad. I’ve been in many different cabin settings with different types of storylines and atmospheres, and I can utilise my experience to positively contribute to my cabin this session.
Skills in Art, Design and Programming: Aside from writing, I possess other skills such as art, graphic design, coding, and programming spreadsheets. I’ve used my art in SWC before, for both thumbnail art, matching icons and cabin trailers. Graphic design may be one of my strongest skills, I am great with Canva, photoshop and other graphic design platforms. With this skill, I can contribute to many design-related elements a cabin may need like thumbnails, banners and more! I am also great with coding, and this can be used for interactive elements a cabin may need, like an icon creator or a cabin trailer. Finally, I’ve utilised my skills with spreadsheets to help with camper word group sorting, word counts to easily update studios, and more.
One Quality
A quality I believe I embody is creativity. Many will think it is just focused on imagination and the art but it is so much more. Creativity is the quality that allows me to think of new, original, and valuable ideas and solutions. It is a mix of imagination, innovation, and problem-solving.
How can I apply it to leadership? Well, firstly, it allows me to think of new and original ideas, which can aid in cabin planning with planning a unique theme and storyline - which in turn can also give campers great memories of a session if their cabin is different from others they've been in before. It also gives me flexibility, this helps me have a unique take on problems and tasks, which can in turn help find the best possible answer or solution.
Creativity also sparks that inner curiosity of mine, which drives me to innovate and think of more things, like for example trying a new idea to help boost camper morale and activity. Whilst the above is important in an environment like SWC, creativity also allows me to understand emotions and campers more. This can help in camper disputes but also when a camper isn’t feeling themself, I can empathise with them, which in turn helps me to achieve the goal of camaraderie I wish to have in my cabin.
In previous sessions of SWC, I’ve used this skill to help think of unique ideas for storylines and ideas. For example in this past session, the (co)leaders of fantasy used creativity to plan out what milestones campers could reach, whilst trying to make them humorous and exciting at the same time.
Overall, I’ve seen creativity in some of the most amazing leaders SWC has had, their creativity has proven success in their cabins, and I don’t just mean competition-wise. But in the experience they provide for their campers which is something I aim to succeed in too.
Cabin Atmosphere
“With an environment focused on growth and camaraderie yet friendly competition, (cabin) offers an exciting storyline to ensure long-lasting memories and friendships.” (168 words)
I aim to carry out this vision with my co-leaders and would like my cabin to be one focused on improvement and building long-lasting bonds and memories, yet with some competitiveness. To achieve this, its storyline would feature aspects of teamwork, allowing campers to get to know each other, no matter what the theme is. I also plan on working on an element of the storyline to allow campers to improve with writing and learn new things. It could be like a workshop, or be more like a critique. Overall, I aim to foster a friendly and supportive environment that has a competitive side, yet focuses on the value of life > swc.
Checkboxes
I will be available to help add points in the main cabin consistently throughout camp.
I’m willing to share a promotional project for SWC
B. I’ve read through the FAQ and understand all leadership responsibilities. I’m confident that I can carry out them all. I’ve experienced these positions before and know the effort and time required.
C. If I happen to go inactive, I will let the hosts and members of my leadership team know beforehand, preferably at least 2 days before. (I do know you can’t predict inactivity but I’ll try my best to give a warning if I think I may go inactive.) As I’ve learnt in past sessions, there wouldn’t be many negative impacts if I do notify ahead of time, to discuss what needs to be done. I do believe that even if I can’t give notice I will try to the best of my abilities to help with whatever before I go inactive. If one of my co-leaders goes inactive, I'd first talk to them and ask if they need any help with anything and offer support. However, if they can’t reply, I would discuss it with my team and then go to the hosts.
About Me
Heyy! I’m Willow (she/her), your average Australian teenager with a love for storytelling and music. Whenever I’m not at school or occupied with housework, you’ll find me with headphones listening to music or reading a book in the corner of my room. I’m a total band kid, who also is in love with the art of debate.
If you already know me or can tell by this theme, it may be obvious that I can’t live without music, whether I play it or listen to it. I play the trombone and many other instruments like guitar and piano! Some of my favourite musicians include Billie Eilish, Lana del Rey, Gracie Abrams, Sabrina Carpenter, FINNEAS, The Cranberries, and Olivia Rodrigo. And I’m so fortunate to go see Billie’s concert in a month!
My undying love for writing has stemmed from stories. And it’s all thanks to my mum, who read me stories nightly as a child. Reading is second nature for me, and I could not live without it. Books are so expensive now that it makes me want to cry… my favourite books include The Hunger Games, Schindler’s List, AGGGTM and The Outsiders! Some of my favourite TV series include Gilmore Girls, Fringe, Buffy, Stranger Things and Locke & Key.
One of my hobbies is debating as I debate competitively which is super fun. I also love art, which is another creative output for me, but I prefer creating it on my own terms rather than on school assignments. Is that just me or is that normal? Anyway, that’s just a little about me, and other than that I love talking with people so feel free to say hi!
Experience
SWC has been a part of my life for nearly 4 years now, teaching me new skills that I apply both in real life and in SWC. I’ve been in the roles of Leader, Co-leader and Camper, and know the requirements of each. Aside from SWC, I have participated in many roles in camps across scratch, from hosting SAC to ghosting SRC to co/leading in SAC, SRC and SAC, and campering in many more.
Here is a compiled list of the sessions I’ve been in and my roles:
November 2024 - Fantasy - Co-Leader (daily team)
July 2024 - Non-Fiction - Co-Leader (daily team)
March 2024 - Tragedy - Co-Leader (daily team)
November 2023 - Steampunk - Co-Leader (daily team)
July 2023 - Illu-Fi - Camper (late signup)
March 2023 - Sci-Fi - Co-Leader (MBC)
November 2022 - Fan-Fiction - Leader (MBC)
July 2022 - Fan-Fiction - Co-Leader (MBC, Workshop Writer)
March 2022 - Mythology - Camper
November 2021 - Poetry - Camper
July 2021 - Fairy Tales - Camper
March 2021 - Dystopian - Camper
November 2020 - Adventure - Camper
Outside of SWC, I have both writing and leadership experience, and I’m always looking for more experience to grow and learn. Recently, I’ve been in a leadership role as a part of a school charity, in which I organise drives and initiatives for my school to take part in alongside 4 other people in different year levels. Whilst I had this role, I successfully increased participation in the charity at my year level significantly. Other roles I’ve held include class captain, year-level representative, debate captain and band captain. These experiences have enabled me to understand leadership and what it entails. I’m also placed in the highest writing class at school and have received a high distinction in writing (1% in Australia). I also debated competitively and in 2024 reached the finals alongside my team.
Preferences
I’ll be honoured to (co)lead any cabin! But, I have some top preferences and would prefer not to be in a cabin I’ve been a part of before. Now that that’s said, without further ado here are my cabin preferences and ideas for them!
Mystery and Gothic - These cabins would be my top preferences. I’ve dreamt of leading a cabin that’s set in a grand and elegant masquerade. But of course, with a twist. The host of the party would suddenly disappear but it’s up to the campers to figure out what happened, whether someone took the host, or they left themselves… or maybe it’s all a part of something bigger (hint, hint). It would be a massive game of clue and would be super interactive. I’d also like to use some ideas from past cabins I've co-led such as elements from Fantasy (Nov ‘24) and how we did the system for unlocking part of the storyline mixed with a similar method from Fan-Fi (July ‘22). I’d also love to include some interactive projects some similar to Fantasy. Finally, I would like to include tasks in the storyline that include discussion like Non-Fi, for example when campers are discussing what happened.
Other genres I’d love to lead would be Solarpunk, Horror, Folklore, Hi-Fi and Fairy Tales. I would prefer to lead a competitive cabin, but I am open to co/leading tctwnw.
Excerpt
(excerpt from a short story based on my great grandma's time in world war 2)
It happened when the screams started, louder than an emergency siren itself—screams that caused my mother to cut my neck, whilst cutting my hair off. And, as the —- from my neck fell like the tears that tumbled down my cheeks, gvn sh0ts echoed in the distance as if thunder was booming. The salty drops fell into my open mouth, as my brother’s old patchwork clothes were thrown at me.
It was when my screams started that I was lifted into the air, and forced into a vehicle, with my grandmother and uncle. My parents and brother were thrown into another.
A clammy hand covered my innocent eyes. Shielding them from the horrors, taking place on the other side of the car’s windows. For a moment, everything was silent. Like before a storm, but then a car, not the one I was in, but the one behind had stopped. The hand, once my shield, was no longer protecting me, instead it was covering my grandmother’s mouth.
My parents, Elijah,
were lost in a crowd of soldiers gathered around their car, stolen from me. That was the first time I ever saw Ma cry. My grandmother had never cried before, yet she still tried to hide it. All for me. How am I worth protecting? I’m a girl, I’ll be taken. Or worse. Disguising as a boy helps with that, but I’m still judged, all because I’m a girl. And even worse, all my hope now lies in the ashes of what was once my home.
Time Dedication
Throughout January and February, I’ll be able to dedicate a lot of time to SWC.. I am on school holidays for nearly the entire month of January (except the 29th and onwards). This allows me to devote a lot of time to planning before camper signups are released. February would be the start of a new school year for me so the first few days would be somewhat busy but I wouldn’t have many exams or anything that could cause inactivity. Overall, I am confident I can dedicate at least 1-3 hours per day in January and 1-2.5 hours in February to SWC.
March (session month!!) would unfortunately be my busiest month, but I am confident I can still be active in SWC. My main commitments would include school and band. The start of the month would be the time I have the most dedicated, which would be 1-2.5 hours a day. However, in the last week of the month, I may have exams.I have no way of knowing when exams will be (as the assessment calendars are not released yet). Nevertheless, I am aware of the responsibilities that come with a leadership position and I still believe I can dedicate much time to SWC, at least 1 hour and at most 2 hours.
If anything were to come up that could sadly cause inactivity I would first notify my (co)leaders and then hosts if necessary. I do understand the time and dedication it takes to be a leader and the responsibilities that come with it. I believe I can actively carry them all out. In November, I had some life issues that caused me to be inactive throughout some of the session, but in March, I know that I will aim to be more active in SWC and carry out responsibilities whilst still following the life > SWC rule. I will be able to regularly update word counts as well as carry out other tasks within SWC.
Time Management
Skills
Organisation: This past year I’ve been focusing on creating schedules and to-do lists to help me delegate tasks. I used to procrastinate a lot before, and while I still do, these lists have helped me fix the problem, When I organise my time wisely I find that I complete more of my tasks quicker. I also find that organising my to-do lists in order of importance helps, as I can prioritise more urgent tasks, which helps me meet deadlines! In SWC, I utilise this skill by creating schedules and to-do lists with dates in cabin planning, which some of my past leaders have done (i find it makes planning way easier!)"
Efficiency: I love being efficient: not only does it help me finish tasks but it helps me do more in a shorter amount of time! Which I love because then in cabin planning we can use it for other exciting tasks. Being efficient also means that all of the time spent is worth it and nothing is wasted. It also helps sort tasks by priority as it focuses me to first complete the urgent tasks and then tasks that are less urgent. To achieve efficiency, I take breaks to make sure I don’t burn out or lose focus as taking breaks allows me to reset. In SWC, I utilise this skill in cabin planning to complete tasks in a fast amount of time which in turn benefits the cabin’s leadership team, and of course, it helps me complete the more important ones first.
Shortcomings
Perfectionism: Whilst sometimes this can be a skill, in the time management area it isn’t… well not for me anyway. My need for perfectionism is actually why I started using schedules and to-do lists more. I want to perfect everything and get it done to the best of my abilities, whilst this is partially great it isn’t good for meeting deadlines. Most times I do meet them, sometimes I only just meet them. Last session, I believe I actually put this in skills, but I’ve now realised that it can be a shortcoming for the following reasons. My perfectionism also leads to overcommitment, because I don’t want to say no for fear of disappointing my co-leaders, I’ve now come to realise that I was being silly and that they won’t be disappointed to fix my overcommitment (on tasks). At the start of cabin planning, I aim to divide tasks equally. To improve, I aim to set more realistic goals for myself and teach myself that nothing can be too perfect. I’ve also started to implement timers (which is what helps me stay on schedule) and I’ve tested this on tasks such as cleaning my room.
Collaboration & Assets
Strengths
Flexibility: I can adapt to a variety of situations and issues and I can deal with any curve balls thrown my way! I’m used to dealing with a majority of issues in many different situations and can easily adapt to solve them. Furthermore, I deal with challenges with an open mind and listen to a diverse range of ideas. I am also flexible around time management and co-leader schedules, as I can easily adjust mine to tackle issues and challenges. Flexibility also helps me to be efficient, for example, if a certain approach isn’t working, I’ll be open to trying a new one! Moreover, if something unexpected happens, I’ll work with co-leaders to find a workaround then together we’ll apply it.
Accountability: I take responsibility for my tasks and commitments and will complete them. Moreover, I’ll openly share my progress on tasks and share if I am struggling with something, as it is better, to be honest, and have integrity than to hide something - that I’ve learnt in previous sessions! I find that owning up to things is a strength as for some it’s hard to do, and it can show great benefits, such as creating a stronger level of trust between me and my co-leaders. I would encourage my co-leaders to also take accountability, by telling them it’s ok to struggle with a task and showing them how it’s a good skill. The atmosphere that I plan to have in my cabin would also support this, as it would be supportive and full of trust. Taking responsibility for my tasks also helps me reach deadlines, and accountability between (co)leaders can end with great benefits such as completed tasks, and encouraging communication creating a supportive environment!
Weaknesses
Saying No: It may seem silly, but I hate saying no. Whilst this may stem from being a people-pleaser, sometimes I feel like I’m not doing enough, so I take on more than I eventually struggle with finishing my tasks on time. However, in this session I plan to delegate tasks evenly at the start of cabin planning, to reduce the chance of becoming overcommitted. As I mentioned before I will be transparent in my progress in tasks and will encourage my co-leaders too as well - by doing this we’d also be able to offer support to one another with their task!
Confrontation: I’m afraid of confrontation too… yes Willow, stop being silly! Sometimes I am scared to address an issue with my leadership team for, example asking about a task, or even admitting that I’m struggling on a task! I’m afraid of them being judgemental… don’t worry guys I know no one in SWC would do that, it’s just me overthinking things! Anyways confrontation for me increases my stress which leads to burnout, so this session I’m aiming to change that. I’ll be changing my mindset about confrontation, looking at it with a positive outlook and being more transparent with my co-leaders.
Assets
Positivity & Support: I think of myself as supportive and positive, I aim to foster an environment where campers and co-leaders are happy to talk to me about issues. I also bring positivity and motivation to cabin planning to make it an enjoyable experience! I’ll also make it clear that I’m here to support anyone if they need it, whether it is with a task in SWC or just stress in general. I make sure to bring positivity to each session, and hope it makes it a memorable experience for campers and (co)leaders alike!
Experience: I’ve been in over twelve SWC sessions before, and have held the positions of camper, co-leader and leader. I know the responsibilities of each role and the effort you need to dedicate. I aim to use my experience to teach others, especially those who have not led before, and I will always be there to support them! I’ve experienced many different situations while(co)leading in SWC, both good and bad. I’ve been in many different cabin settings with different types of storylines and atmospheres, and I can utilise my experience to positively contribute to my cabin this session.
Skills in Art, Design and Programming: Aside from writing, I possess other skills such as art, graphic design, coding, and programming spreadsheets. I’ve used my art in SWC before, for both thumbnail art, matching icons and cabin trailers. Graphic design may be one of my strongest skills, I am great with Canva, photoshop and other graphic design platforms. With this skill, I can contribute to many design-related elements a cabin may need like thumbnails, banners and more! I am also great with coding, and this can be used for interactive elements a cabin may need, like an icon creator or a cabin trailer. Finally, I’ve utilised my skills with spreadsheets to help with camper word group sorting, word counts to easily update studios, and more.
One Quality
A quality I believe I embody is creativity. Many will think it is just focused on imagination and the art but it is so much more. Creativity is the quality that allows me to think of new, original, and valuable ideas and solutions. It is a mix of imagination, innovation, and problem-solving.
How can I apply it to leadership? Well, firstly, it allows me to think of new and original ideas, which can aid in cabin planning with planning a unique theme and storyline - which in turn can also give campers great memories of a session if their cabin is different from others they've been in before. It also gives me flexibility, this helps me have a unique take on problems and tasks, which can in turn help find the best possible answer or solution.
Creativity also sparks that inner curiosity of mine, which drives me to innovate and think of more things, like for example trying a new idea to help boost camper morale and activity. Whilst the above is important in an environment like SWC, creativity also allows me to understand emotions and campers more. This can help in camper disputes but also when a camper isn’t feeling themself, I can empathise with them, which in turn helps me to achieve the goal of camaraderie I wish to have in my cabin.
In previous sessions of SWC, I’ve used this skill to help think of unique ideas for storylines and ideas. For example in this past session, the (co)leaders of fantasy used creativity to plan out what milestones campers could reach, whilst trying to make them humorous and exciting at the same time.
Overall, I’ve seen creativity in some of the most amazing leaders SWC has had, their creativity has proven success in their cabins, and I don’t just mean competition-wise. But in the experience they provide for their campers which is something I aim to succeed in too.
Cabin Atmosphere
“With an environment focused on growth and camaraderie yet friendly competition, (cabin) offers an exciting storyline to ensure long-lasting memories and friendships.” (168 words)
I aim to carry out this vision with my co-leaders and would like my cabin to be one focused on improvement and building long-lasting bonds and memories, yet with some competitiveness. To achieve this, its storyline would feature aspects of teamwork, allowing campers to get to know each other, no matter what the theme is. I also plan on working on an element of the storyline to allow campers to improve with writing and learn new things. It could be like a workshop, or be more like a critique. Overall, I aim to foster a friendly and supportive environment that has a competitive side, yet focuses on the value of life > swc.
Checkboxes
I will be available to help add points in the main cabin consistently throughout camp.
I’m willing to share a promotional project for SWC
B. I’ve read through the FAQ and understand all leadership responsibilities. I’m confident that I can carry out them all. I’ve experienced these positions before and know the effort and time required.
C. If I happen to go inactive, I will let the hosts and members of my leadership team know beforehand, preferably at least 2 days before. (I do know you can’t predict inactivity but I’ll try my best to give a warning if I think I may go inactive.) As I’ve learnt in past sessions, there wouldn’t be many negative impacts if I do notify ahead of time, to discuss what needs to be done. I do believe that even if I can’t give notice I will try to the best of my abilities to help with whatever before I go inactive. If one of my co-leaders goes inactive, I'd first talk to them and ask if they need any help with anything and offer support. However, if they can’t reply, I would discuss it with my team and then go to the hosts.
Last edited by cceaneyes (Jan. 18, 2025 18:13:25)
- cb2jkl
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
swc megathread ⌕ nov 2024
About Me:
Hello! I’m CJ (he/him), and my timezone is the wonderful PST. In my free time, I enjoy drawing, playing board games, and listening to music! Currently, some of my favorite artists include Keshi, Kendrick, and SZA.
Over winter break, I’ve begun to dedicate more time to reading; I started the Embers of Illeniel series and read Jade Fire Gold. If anyone reading this has read either of those, shoot me a message; I’d love to hear your thoughts! Personally, I found the Embers of Illeniel series to be particularly interesting conceptually, and it wasn’t predictable and cliche like other books I’d read. I mean, I kept reading it despite my short attention span, which is saying a lot…
Additionally, I enjoy writing (definitely not stating the obvious here). This year, I made it one of my New Year’s resolutions to write at least once a week, and I’m hoping I’ll be able to stick to that. In particular, I enjoy writing romance, realistic fiction, and poetry! In the future, I’m hoping to branch out more and explore other genres.
Relating to that, I’m hoping that overall, this year will be a time of growth for me. As I’m nearing adulthood, I find myself trying to set more concrete goals, in the hopes of assuaging my worries about the future.
Previous Participation:
The upcoming session will be my 10th session of SWC! I’ve led four times, co-led twice, and camped three times.
November 2021 - Fantasy Forest - Camper
July 2022 - Myth Maze - Camper
November 2022 - Adventure Kingdom - Camper
March 2023 - Hi-Fi Battlegrounds - Co-leader w/ Matty and Wave
July 2023 - Thriller Apocalypse - Leader w/ Vi
November 2023 - Adventure Island - Leader w/ Alia
March 2024 - Thriller Insect Academy - Leader w/ Rockie and Poppy
July 2024 - Mystery Market - Leader w/ Sandy and Crim
November 2024 - The Boba Tavern - Magical Realism - Co-leader w/ Alana and Clev
As for leading experience outside of SWC, I’ve led for SAC (Scratch Art Camp) several times and hosted as well. This served as my introduction to leading and helped me build a strong foundation! I learned how to construct a successful storyline, be an involved leader, ensure camper engagement, etc. All of these skills were immensely helpful in future leading positions, both irl and online.
Additionally, last summer I spent a lot of time volunteering at my local pool, where I was a swim instructor. This experience helped me improve my communication skills, as I learned to connect with people of varying communication styles, something which is especially important in SWC considering the vast number of campers. I realized that everyone communicates differently, and sometimes it's important to pause and adapt. On top of that, this experience enhanced my ability to work with and guide small groups effectively.
Cabin Preferences:
I’d love to lead Journalism this session! My idea for it involves the construction of a “SWC” newspaper, with advice columns, stories from other cabins, and SWC fanfiction. Together, campers will collaborate to create a weekly edition, interviewing different SWCers and writing articles. Additionally, campers from other cabins can submit their work to be featured!
While Journalism is my top choice, I also have ideas for Dystopian and Folklore! However, I would prefer not to lead TCTWNW, as the competitive aspect of SWC is a big motivator for me.
Excerpt:
https://scratch.mit.edu/discuss/topic/769395/?page=1#post-8072203
Time Dedication:
Within the next few months, I don’t have any major commitments, as swim season is over and I’ve taken the majority of my exams. Of course, despite exam season being over, my workload is still heavy and homework will take up a great deal of my time. Currently, the only specific date I know of where I will be inactive is from February 22-23 for a MUN conference.
Despite these commitments, I’m confident that I will be able to dedicate around 45 minutes to SWC every day. This includes discussion with my fellow (co) leaders, creating thumbnails, posting projects, interacting with campers, etc. While I do not foresee any changes in these plans, if they do arise, I will immediately contact the hosts/my leading team, so that we can determine the best way to proceed.
Time Management:
One of my skills in time management is organization. I’m good at keeping track of various tasks through different trackers and lists. This prevents me from being overwhelmed by the amount of work I have to do because I can pinpoint exactly what needs to be done.
At the end of every day, I organize all my tasks by their urgency and write down the tasks that I plan on completing today. For example, in the more urgent category, I could put “study for bio test”, while in the less urgent category, I could put “begin research for MUN position paper.” Having a separate daily to-do list helps me be more productive because it gives me a sense of accomplishment for doing each task. With a bigger to-do list, I often do a lot of work on a task, but not enough to complete it, leaving me feeling unproductive and less motivated to work on that task later. During SWC, I will use this system to ensure that I keep track of due dates well and finish all tasks promptly.
A shortcoming of mine in time management is that I’m easily distracted. I often find myself scrolling for hours without even realizing it, playing games on my phone, etc. This makes it hard to work for long periods. To remedy this, I’ve tried to distance myself from my phone while doing work. For example, when writing this, I put my phone in another room, so that I wouldn’t be tempted to pick it up. Additionally, I’ve tried to work in short blocks of time, like 30 minutes, and then afterward take a 5-minute break. This helps me stay on track and work more efficiently.
Collaboration & Assets:
One of my strengths in collaboration is my ability to take initiative in discussions. When no one steps forward and makes an effort to keep the discussion flowing, it can stall as people lose interest and shift their focus elsewhere. By staying engaged and proactive, I can ensure this doesn’t happen and that work continues smoothly. This will allow us to use our time efficiently and not fall behind.
Additionally, I’m a straightforward communicator. I’m very honest and direct about my ideas, while still respecting other perspectives. This encourages my leading partners to do the same, which allows for a more productive discussion. Being clear about my vision makes it easier for others to contribute their ideas and build off of what I’ve introduced. Relating to this, I always make it a priority to ensure that everyone has a say; I find it very helpful to hear different voices so that we can all collaborate to produce the best result.
Another strength of mine is that I’m adaptable. Often, unpredictable things happen, and being able to succeed despite that is an important skill. Many changes can occur throughout a session and if people aren’t able to react quickly, something small can have a big impact. I’m confident that no matter what happens in this session, I will still be able to succeed. If someone is no longer able to finish a storyline project we originally planned on doing, I will step up and ensure that it gets done. For example, I could take on the work myself if my schedule allowed for it, propose modifying the project, or delegate the work to someone else who’s available. Of course, communication is key to ensure that there’s ample time to work around setbacks.
A weakness of mine is that I’m a perfectionist. I want things to be done a certain way and when something doesn’t come out the way I envisioned, I often feel upset and frustrated. As a result, I take on more work than I can realistically handle, to ensure that it’s done the way I want it to. Then, later on in the session, I often feel overwhelmed and stressed by my workload, not completing the tasks properly/on time. To manage this, I’ve been practicing taking a pause and stepping back whenever I’m tempted to take on too much work at once, reminding myself that there are multiple right ways to do something.
On top of this, I tend to talk about too many different things at once, which can confuse the people I’m working with and make it hard for them to follow along. This is especially true at the start of the session when I’m full of ideas but unsure how to organize them. However, I’m working on slowing down and addressing things one step at a time.
An asset that I bring to my leading team is my art skills. I’m capable of drawing a wide range of things, which can be used, thumbnails, pfps, and much more. I’m best at drawing animals and various scenery, but I can also draw people! Storyline-specific art can help our cabin stand out and give it a distinct feel. Additionally, I have quite a bit of experience with graphic design, which can also be helpful!
Quality:
The quality I value most in a leader is honesty. To me, honesty in a leadership role means clearly communicating your abilities and expectations to others. Additionally, it involves acknowledging mistakes and asking for help when you need it. When others understand your strengths and weaknesses, you can collaborate more effectively, with strength in every area.
Honesty and transparency build the trust necessary for successful teamwork. If you aren't able or willing to admit when you're struggling, things can easily fall apart. No one is perfect and assuming otherwise adds unnecessary pressure, leading to stress. Mistakes happen, and it's important to take responsibility for them.
I will embody this quality by clearly sharing my ideas and vision with my leading partners early on. As mentioned before, being a straightforward communicator is one of my strengths. Sharing this information with my partners will help us communicate more efficiently and effectively. I’ll seek help when needed and own up to my mistakes, working to correct them. For instance, if I’m having trouble writing a desc for a project, I’ll ask my partners for assistance rather than struggling on my own. If I don’t complete a task by the deadline I promised, I’ll acknowledge it and provide an explanation so that there is no uncertainty about my reliability.
Atmosphere:
A cabin that focuses on forming long-lasting memories and cabin bonding. Through various writing activities, campers will be presented with numerous opportunities to improve their skills.
Checkboxes:
If my leading partner(s) go(es) inactive during the planning phase and I’m informed in advance, I will shift my focus to my individual tasks for the time being, rather than our collaborative ones. For example, instead of discussing storyline plans, I might work on a thumbnail. During the active session, I would likely do something similar. If they were managing the word-adding studio, I could take over that responsibility for the time being.
However, if my leading partner goes inactive unexpectedly, I will take a different approach. I’ll wait a few days and try contacting them through different methods, as notifications can sometimes be unreliable (forum notifications in particular). If they still don’t respond, I will reach out to the hosts and, after discussing it with my other partner, select a new leading partner.
If I know in advance that I’ll be inactive for a period, I will inform both the hosts and my leading partners, so they can adjust their plans accordingly. If I have responsibilities that require daily activity, I will ensure to plan ahead and work around those.
Train Route:
I would build a train route to Germany! I traveled there when I was very little, and I would love to go back!
(1983 words)
Last edited by cb2jkl (Jan. 18, 2025 21:23:08)
- TheBibliophile7
-
Scratcher
500+ posts
swc megathread ⌕ nov 2024
reese's leader app answers - march 2025!
about me
hi! welcome back to another episode of reese has no idea how to write about herself (this happens every session; not an unusual occurrence). if you haven’t gathered as much so far, i’m reese. i go by she/her pronouns, and live in the (b)est timezone! my current passions, outside of writing and reading, are forensics (essentially public speaking competitions – i’m in sales), playing soccer, and daydreaming about crafts i want to make (except… i never seem to get around to actually making them). i like being creative, which warrants the long lift of to-do projects for “someday” — including learning macrame, crocheting, and various room decor i want to make (i am currently obsessed with tangled – app inspo teehee – and really want to make some floating lanterns to hang somewhere).
apart from my fascination with future projects, i’ve also been in a huge fantasy phase recently; winter break was a great opportunity for me to get back into reading more, and i dove back straight into the familiar territory. caraval was probably my favorite book i read over break — i found the world to be incredibly fascinating; i’ve always loved good worldbuilding, and i immediately fell in love with the tantalizing environment of the isle. my long-time favorites have been i fell in love with hope (by lancali), a story of found family and all-encompassing love, and six of crows (by leigh bardugo), with its twisted ketterdam streets and delightful portrayal of my favorite morally grey crows. i’ve loved rereading the inheritance games (by jennifer lynn bardugo) over break!
a few other silly little facts about me: i’m someone who loves to learn, strives for personal growth, and has a bad habit of spending too much time on that one site with pins (forums keeps redacting it)! i have a dream… to be a journalist someday, simply because i find the idea of a job where to work is to be in constant research for stories to be thrilling. my favorite time of year is fall or new year’s day, my favorite color is light pink or grey-blue, and my favorite food is bread! i am a canonical crow and i am a night owl who adores midnights, loves to be awake early, but also hates waking up (its an incredibly unfortunate combination).
and with that, i have opened the pages of my book for you to see <3
experience
i’ve been involved in swc for two years now, since november of 2022. my list of cabins is below:
nov ‘22 – naan fi breadhouse – camper
march ‘23 – dystopian dynasty – co-leader
july ‘23 – folklore long pond studios – co-leader
nov ‘23 – script misfits – camper
mar ‘24 – anywaysamythsy – co-leader
july ‘24 – fantasy chocolate shop – co-leader
nov ‘24 – the arcane lanes – co-leader
so, to summarize, i’ve campered twice, and co-led five times! the biggest thing i’ve gained since my first session is my confidence in myself – which sounds kind of silly, but it has made such a difference in my ability to be an effective leader. i was so excited helping run the dynasty two years ago, but i was incredibly nervous, and this made me overthink a lot of the ideas i put forth. finding a little more confidence has made it easier for me to make suggestions and talk to people; i feel a lot more comfortable in the position of leading the cabin. i’ve found a comfort zone in co-leading, and now i want to try stepping out of this comfort zone, into a leader position role (however, i still adore coleading, and would be honored to be accepted as either).
outside of scratch, i write articles for my school’s newspaper, and am in a leadership program that’s allowed me to mentor younger kids at a nearby elementary school, as well as do volunteering around my community. i’m also looking to attend a creative writing summer camp in july!
cabin preference
this session, i actually would love to lead the cabin that will not win! i have a few other commitments this month, and feel as though it would be a good way to ease into a position of leadership while still balancing life as a sophomore in high school. my idea for the cabin would be have a cabin theme centered around tangled (thought it could be fun to base my app around my cabin idea hehe), and campers would be able to sew patches on their “sachels” throughout the session as they completed swc or storyline activities, the latter of which would include lots of cabin bonding and pretty much just having a fun time as we journeyed towards the lights. the overall goal would be to make memory and share special moments as a whole cabin <3
additionally, while this idea is meant to be laid back for a tctwnw setting, i could definitely apply it to a more relaxed fairy tales! for cabingo purposes, i would like to avoid dystopian, non-fi, script, fantasy, myth, folklore, and steampunk, if possible, but as always, would be honored with anything!
excerpt
From the top of the ruins, she could see the whole city; a rotting scrapyard of smoke and ashes. It looked far too small from the top of the tower, which was the only thing left standing that hadn’t fallen to blaze or rubble. Broken glass was shattered across tiled floors, but there it stood. It was almost funny; the only thing left standing was the watchtower that had failed to do the single thing it had been built for — watching.
The watchers had fallen long before the city, but the tower still remained, perhaps as a symbol of the indelible thing that is loss and the fragile thing that was hope. She despised it.
For a moment, she thought she saw the red moon burn. She blinked, and the vision was gone.
Not yet.
It wasn’t fear, she told herself, it was recovery. The words helped her find her footing again, and she rose from her curled up position on the balcony floor into something of a crouch. Then she stood, but there she stayed, unable to trick herself into taking a step forward… not when the only way forward was coming to terms with what had happened the last time she’d stepped too far.
She tilted her head, and let her hand brush the railing. Dust caught in the grooves of her fingertips, painting a dull gray over her dark skin. She studied it, the dirt under her fingernails, the scrapes on her forearms, the jagged edges of glass caught in her coat. She looked like something of a marauder, or if you twisted the light, something of a monster.
Movement caught the corner of her gaze and she turned, still bracing herself. There was nothing there except dust and flames. She let them burn.
time dedication
i have a few commitments this session that will definitely effect my time, however, i feel confident that i can manage them as long as i plan out my schedule! in the past, i’ve done my best to send my schedule for the week each sunday, in order to ensure my leading team understands how much time i’ll have to dedicate to swc-related tasks, and we can plan ahead.
my current activities are listed below:
MODEL UN: meetings after school thursdays; conference march 5-8th (will be mostly unable to come online during the conference)
FORENSICS: rehearsals after school twice a week starting in february; competitions march 15, 22 (might be less active during the day, but will still be around at night)
SOCCER: every in the afternoon pretty much throughout jan, feb, and march (may push my time online to a little later in order to fit in homework)
LEADERSHIP PROGRAM: every other monday (same as soccer, might just push things back a bit)
i will also be in contact with my team to ensure they are aware of my commitments, and if anything else comes up!
time management
SKILLS:
to do lists & planners — probably my biggest asset when it comes to time management; i make todo lists for myself all the time, and do my best to stick with them, in order to stay on top of the tasks i need to accomplish that day or week. i also set reminders on my phone to remind me not to forget certain things, which gives me direct instructions to get stuff done.
balance — i know how much time i have, and how much i need to get done, which allows me to effectively budget my time for the tasks i need to complete. for example, i try to start with simple easy assignments that i can check off my list, then moving to things i will not have motivation to finish when it's late at night (aka math homework, chemistry worksheets, things with a set number of problems or prompts), and finally anything that doesn’t have a set list of requirements (such as projects, presentations, essays… anything that could take as much or as little time as i let it).
SHORTCOMINGS:
perfectionism — tada, it would not be a reese app without this somewhere! yes, i am a perfectionist, and no, it is not a good thing. well, in some cases it can be, but mine is not one such case! having such a close eye for detail allows me to put good work forward, but also makes it take a lot longer, because i set high standards for myself and what i’m working on.
procrastination — and yes, another regular occurrence! though, i’d say this has evolved into more of just… needing a break? it’s not necessarily that i put things off most of the time, but rather i need to take a breather after so much academic push throughout the day, and this delays the time i start working.
collaboration & assets
STRENGTHS:
adaptable — i’m very flexible! something isn’t working? let’s fix it, change it, adjust it, make it work a little better. even irl, i’m a go-with-the-flow kind of person, and do my best not to let little mishaps get in the way of the end destination. something always inevitably goes wrong, and i’m willing to adapt to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible.
openmindedness — i loveeee hearing other people’s opinions and perspectives on everything, because they almost always have interesting things to add that i never would have considered. compromises are lovely, so if we can incorporate aspects of everyone’s ideas, it makes the final project even better.
WEAKNESSES:
indecisiveness — this is kind of my negative side of the adaptable/openminded traits; with such good ideas and perspectives, i really don’t like picking one to go with! it’s hard for me to narrow down good options and be critical on things put forth by other people, which is something i’m continuing to work on. making decisions is not my forte, and i usually rely on others to give me their input if i have to be the one to make the choice.
ASSETS:
experience — it feels so silly that i can make this an asset now, but i have been co-leading for a while! five sessions has given me a lot of different perspectives on what it means to be a leader, and how to adapt to different situations. i’ve been in super active and interactive cabins, and cabins where things did not go exactly as planned, but through it all, it’s given me a well-rounded perspective on leading.
one quality
i would say the quality i embody the most as a leader is patience. i was asked once if my leading style was more similar to a “hunter” or a “gatherer”; a hunter was more outspoken with their leadership, giving directions and being vocal, taking charge, etc, while a gatherer was quieter, leading by example, and being a bit more gentle with their leadership. i was very quick to say “gatherer”, because i’m not the type of person who would take control of a situation (no matter how much the quality control perfectionism part of me wants to), rather offering support and guidance, and allowing people to do what they feel is best for the situation. as a leader, i’m patient with those around me, because i understand that things don’t always work out they way they were intended! i’m open to hearing what everyone has to say, and combining multiple ideas to find what is best for the situation, rather than jumping with the first thing mentioned. i’m not quick to take annoyance or get frustrated if something doesn’t go my way, and instead would handle conflict or confusion in a gentle manner.
atmosphere
a family-esque environment, where goals are encouraged, memories are made, and balance is prioritized; the cabin would seek to inspire, motivate, and build memories as we reach to see the light. <3
checkboxes
A) both were checked <3
B) nope!
C) in case of inactive leadership of someone else, i would give them a bit of time first — i know that things come up, but if there aren’t in communication with us for a few days, i would reach out to them first, before going to hosts. as leader, i would then have to make a judgement call on whether it makes sense to add a new co in case of their permanent inactivity, or if we can continue with only one co. in case of my own inactivity, i would work with my coleaders to ensure smooth transition, by working through the best course of action; whether it be finding another person to complete the team, or helping them manage with two.
about me
hi! welcome back to another episode of reese has no idea how to write about herself (this happens every session; not an unusual occurrence). if you haven’t gathered as much so far, i’m reese. i go by she/her pronouns, and live in the (b)est timezone! my current passions, outside of writing and reading, are forensics (essentially public speaking competitions – i’m in sales), playing soccer, and daydreaming about crafts i want to make (except… i never seem to get around to actually making them). i like being creative, which warrants the long lift of to-do projects for “someday” — including learning macrame, crocheting, and various room decor i want to make (i am currently obsessed with tangled – app inspo teehee – and really want to make some floating lanterns to hang somewhere).
apart from my fascination with future projects, i’ve also been in a huge fantasy phase recently; winter break was a great opportunity for me to get back into reading more, and i dove back straight into the familiar territory. caraval was probably my favorite book i read over break — i found the world to be incredibly fascinating; i’ve always loved good worldbuilding, and i immediately fell in love with the tantalizing environment of the isle. my long-time favorites have been i fell in love with hope (by lancali), a story of found family and all-encompassing love, and six of crows (by leigh bardugo), with its twisted ketterdam streets and delightful portrayal of my favorite morally grey crows. i’ve loved rereading the inheritance games (by jennifer lynn bardugo) over break!
a few other silly little facts about me: i’m someone who loves to learn, strives for personal growth, and has a bad habit of spending too much time on that one site with pins (forums keeps redacting it)! i have a dream… to be a journalist someday, simply because i find the idea of a job where to work is to be in constant research for stories to be thrilling. my favorite time of year is fall or new year’s day, my favorite color is light pink or grey-blue, and my favorite food is bread! i am a canonical crow and i am a night owl who adores midnights, loves to be awake early, but also hates waking up (its an incredibly unfortunate combination).
and with that, i have opened the pages of my book for you to see <3
experience
i’ve been involved in swc for two years now, since november of 2022. my list of cabins is below:
nov ‘22 – naan fi breadhouse – camper
march ‘23 – dystopian dynasty – co-leader
july ‘23 – folklore long pond studios – co-leader
nov ‘23 – script misfits – camper
mar ‘24 – anywaysamythsy – co-leader
july ‘24 – fantasy chocolate shop – co-leader
nov ‘24 – the arcane lanes – co-leader
so, to summarize, i’ve campered twice, and co-led five times! the biggest thing i’ve gained since my first session is my confidence in myself – which sounds kind of silly, but it has made such a difference in my ability to be an effective leader. i was so excited helping run the dynasty two years ago, but i was incredibly nervous, and this made me overthink a lot of the ideas i put forth. finding a little more confidence has made it easier for me to make suggestions and talk to people; i feel a lot more comfortable in the position of leading the cabin. i’ve found a comfort zone in co-leading, and now i want to try stepping out of this comfort zone, into a leader position role (however, i still adore coleading, and would be honored to be accepted as either).
outside of scratch, i write articles for my school’s newspaper, and am in a leadership program that’s allowed me to mentor younger kids at a nearby elementary school, as well as do volunteering around my community. i’m also looking to attend a creative writing summer camp in july!
cabin preference
this session, i actually would love to lead the cabin that will not win! i have a few other commitments this month, and feel as though it would be a good way to ease into a position of leadership while still balancing life as a sophomore in high school. my idea for the cabin would be have a cabin theme centered around tangled (thought it could be fun to base my app around my cabin idea hehe), and campers would be able to sew patches on their “sachels” throughout the session as they completed swc or storyline activities, the latter of which would include lots of cabin bonding and pretty much just having a fun time as we journeyed towards the lights. the overall goal would be to make memory and share special moments as a whole cabin <3
additionally, while this idea is meant to be laid back for a tctwnw setting, i could definitely apply it to a more relaxed fairy tales! for cabingo purposes, i would like to avoid dystopian, non-fi, script, fantasy, myth, folklore, and steampunk, if possible, but as always, would be honored with anything!
excerpt
From the top of the ruins, she could see the whole city; a rotting scrapyard of smoke and ashes. It looked far too small from the top of the tower, which was the only thing left standing that hadn’t fallen to blaze or rubble. Broken glass was shattered across tiled floors, but there it stood. It was almost funny; the only thing left standing was the watchtower that had failed to do the single thing it had been built for — watching.
The watchers had fallen long before the city, but the tower still remained, perhaps as a symbol of the indelible thing that is loss and the fragile thing that was hope. She despised it.
For a moment, she thought she saw the red moon burn. She blinked, and the vision was gone.
Not yet.
It wasn’t fear, she told herself, it was recovery. The words helped her find her footing again, and she rose from her curled up position on the balcony floor into something of a crouch. Then she stood, but there she stayed, unable to trick herself into taking a step forward… not when the only way forward was coming to terms with what had happened the last time she’d stepped too far.
She tilted her head, and let her hand brush the railing. Dust caught in the grooves of her fingertips, painting a dull gray over her dark skin. She studied it, the dirt under her fingernails, the scrapes on her forearms, the jagged edges of glass caught in her coat. She looked like something of a marauder, or if you twisted the light, something of a monster.
Movement caught the corner of her gaze and she turned, still bracing herself. There was nothing there except dust and flames. She let them burn.
time dedication
i have a few commitments this session that will definitely effect my time, however, i feel confident that i can manage them as long as i plan out my schedule! in the past, i’ve done my best to send my schedule for the week each sunday, in order to ensure my leading team understands how much time i’ll have to dedicate to swc-related tasks, and we can plan ahead.
my current activities are listed below:
MODEL UN: meetings after school thursdays; conference march 5-8th (will be mostly unable to come online during the conference)
FORENSICS: rehearsals after school twice a week starting in february; competitions march 15, 22 (might be less active during the day, but will still be around at night)
SOCCER: every in the afternoon pretty much throughout jan, feb, and march (may push my time online to a little later in order to fit in homework)
LEADERSHIP PROGRAM: every other monday (same as soccer, might just push things back a bit)
i will also be in contact with my team to ensure they are aware of my commitments, and if anything else comes up!
time management
SKILLS:
to do lists & planners — probably my biggest asset when it comes to time management; i make todo lists for myself all the time, and do my best to stick with them, in order to stay on top of the tasks i need to accomplish that day or week. i also set reminders on my phone to remind me not to forget certain things, which gives me direct instructions to get stuff done.
balance — i know how much time i have, and how much i need to get done, which allows me to effectively budget my time for the tasks i need to complete. for example, i try to start with simple easy assignments that i can check off my list, then moving to things i will not have motivation to finish when it's late at night (aka math homework, chemistry worksheets, things with a set number of problems or prompts), and finally anything that doesn’t have a set list of requirements (such as projects, presentations, essays… anything that could take as much or as little time as i let it).
SHORTCOMINGS:
perfectionism — tada, it would not be a reese app without this somewhere! yes, i am a perfectionist, and no, it is not a good thing. well, in some cases it can be, but mine is not one such case! having such a close eye for detail allows me to put good work forward, but also makes it take a lot longer, because i set high standards for myself and what i’m working on.
procrastination — and yes, another regular occurrence! though, i’d say this has evolved into more of just… needing a break? it’s not necessarily that i put things off most of the time, but rather i need to take a breather after so much academic push throughout the day, and this delays the time i start working.
collaboration & assets
STRENGTHS:
adaptable — i’m very flexible! something isn’t working? let’s fix it, change it, adjust it, make it work a little better. even irl, i’m a go-with-the-flow kind of person, and do my best not to let little mishaps get in the way of the end destination. something always inevitably goes wrong, and i’m willing to adapt to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible.
openmindedness — i loveeee hearing other people’s opinions and perspectives on everything, because they almost always have interesting things to add that i never would have considered. compromises are lovely, so if we can incorporate aspects of everyone’s ideas, it makes the final project even better.
WEAKNESSES:
indecisiveness — this is kind of my negative side of the adaptable/openminded traits; with such good ideas and perspectives, i really don’t like picking one to go with! it’s hard for me to narrow down good options and be critical on things put forth by other people, which is something i’m continuing to work on. making decisions is not my forte, and i usually rely on others to give me their input if i have to be the one to make the choice.
ASSETS:
experience — it feels so silly that i can make this an asset now, but i have been co-leading for a while! five sessions has given me a lot of different perspectives on what it means to be a leader, and how to adapt to different situations. i’ve been in super active and interactive cabins, and cabins where things did not go exactly as planned, but through it all, it’s given me a well-rounded perspective on leading.
one quality
i would say the quality i embody the most as a leader is patience. i was asked once if my leading style was more similar to a “hunter” or a “gatherer”; a hunter was more outspoken with their leadership, giving directions and being vocal, taking charge, etc, while a gatherer was quieter, leading by example, and being a bit more gentle with their leadership. i was very quick to say “gatherer”, because i’m not the type of person who would take control of a situation (no matter how much the quality control perfectionism part of me wants to), rather offering support and guidance, and allowing people to do what they feel is best for the situation. as a leader, i’m patient with those around me, because i understand that things don’t always work out they way they were intended! i’m open to hearing what everyone has to say, and combining multiple ideas to find what is best for the situation, rather than jumping with the first thing mentioned. i’m not quick to take annoyance or get frustrated if something doesn’t go my way, and instead would handle conflict or confusion in a gentle manner.
atmosphere
a family-esque environment, where goals are encouraged, memories are made, and balance is prioritized; the cabin would seek to inspire, motivate, and build memories as we reach to see the light. <3
checkboxes
A) both were checked <3
B) nope!
C) in case of inactive leadership of someone else, i would give them a bit of time first — i know that things come up, but if there aren’t in communication with us for a few days, i would reach out to them first, before going to hosts. as leader, i would then have to make a judgement call on whether it makes sense to add a new co in case of their permanent inactivity, or if we can continue with only one co. in case of my own inactivity, i would work with my coleaders to ensure smooth transition, by working through the best course of action; whether it be finding another person to complete the team, or helping them manage with two.
- ForestPanther
-
Scratcher
500+ posts
swc megathread ⌕ nov 2024
about me
Hiya! I'm CD- welcome to my co-leader application! I use they/them pronouns and live (usually) in est
Usually when I introduce myself, I feel obliged to mention music in some way, as it's just such a huge part of who I am- and this time will be no different I listen to music obsessively, and love a variety of genres- favourite right now by far being jazz hip-hop. I'm really into 90's NY jazz rap- artists like A Tribe Called Quest and Diggable Planets. That music has my SOUL. Additionally, I love Brazilian rock/reggae and also listen to game osts/weirdcore I also play quite a few instruments- I've played piano for over a decade, and also play clarinet, alto/soprano
sax, flute, recorder (yes, it is a real instrument!) and am currently learning the bassoon- I'm the only player in my entire (very small) country :0 If you want to find me at school, I'll be in the band room I'm an artist as well- I draw traditionally, digitally, and also make crafts a ton. I recently launched my own
jewelry business I love basketball and hope to play it properly in my life- it's just one of those things where if I hadn't found it, I don't really know what I= would be doing with myself (in sports). Favourite players include Luka and Wemby!
I love to read (recently read The House in the Cerulean Sea, Six of Crows again lmao and Bill Bryson's Short History of Nearly Everything (physics nerd moment) I also love to write poetry, and have recently discovered (because of class :skull: ) that I'm actually quite the analytical essay writer (me when I can include features of the gothic in my analysis <33333)
And finally, as I've yapped for quite enough time, I love video games. I play Minecraft often with my friends- SWC mc server when? /j- and also love horror games such as FNAF and DDLC. The game my app is based on, Slay the Princess, is a recent find of mine and probably the best “horror” game I've ever encountered. It's an absolute masterpiece in phycological themes and brilliant writing that I would recommend to exactly everybody. It's not so much a game as a novel in itself- really, I encourage anybody who loves good stories to give this game a try. It's incredible. If you want to know any more about it, please let me know because I could talk for hours <3
Anyways- thank you for viewing my application, and welcome!
(p.s. I forgot to mention but ARCANE. Also I'm in the chess community too lmao)
participation
Previously, I have participated in 12 SWC sessions- this will be my 13th :0 Throughout my time here, i have been leader three times (Horror Reality Jul ‘23, Solarpunk City Jul ’24 and the Bi-Fi Dreamscape, Nov ‘24) and I’ve been co-leader 4 times! (Camp Contemp March ‘22, Thriller Ocean Expedition Nov ’22, Adventure Ruins March ‘23 and Sci-Fi Database Match ’24) I've also led the Graffiti cabin in SAC and Fantasy in ITWC. During sessions, I'm often heading the storyline, as I love creating exciting plotlines for our campers <3 I also like to draw pfps and banners ect In the wider camp, I've been a writing competition panelist, a member of the memory book committee as well as adding Main Cabin points and being a writer
for the Daily Team
Outside of SWC, I love to take on leadership roles- I have been House Captain, Prefect and Student Council multiple times! Additionally, I've led our Battle of the Books team and captained our school's basketball team.
I sit first chair in band and orchestra and have recently performed as solo clarinetist on a few occasions. I led my delegation in the Princeton Senior MUN conference and have led my team in national debate and maths competitions! I really enjoy leadership, so I'm always looking for opportunities to be a leader.
cabin prefs
I don't have any strong cabin preferences this session, especially as I'm only applying for co-leader. As always, I'd be delighted to be a part of any cabin! I'll say that I would prefer not to co-lead Thriller, Horror or Solarpunk as I've previously (co)led these genres. I have a particular affinity for Dystopian and Poetry!
I don't tend to come equipped with specific ideas for cabin plotlines, as one of my favourite parts of SWC is cabin planning with your cos <3
Due to my competitive nature I would rather not co-lead TCTWNW.
excerpt
The only world that four people had ever known was crumbling at its foundations.
For a hundred years, the solid stone that was the base of a cliffside empire had been eroding. At first it was slow. Small chunks of rock would break free from the edges of the cliffs and plummet thousands of feet down, into a misty pink abyss that lurked under the mountains of Laweliniy. The echoes of the fallen rock crashing against the cliff would reverberate back up to the ears of the inhabitants of the empire. It was a haunting, ghostly melody.
As years passed, larger boulders of stone began to break apart from the weathered cliff. Half a century passed. The boulders that would tear apart from the cliff were now big enough to take down houses and buildings with it into the fog below. The city was nervous. And that nervousness erupted into pure terror when one day entire miles of infrastructure, along with innocent lives, collapsed into the void and was lost to eternity.
The mighty society began to crumble. Every day, new reports of disasters never seen before filtered into the minds of the terrified citizens of Laweliniy. The government scrambled to keep the calm and to fix the gaping hole in the empire. But nothing anyone would do seemed to help.
The city was doomed to a final day before the collapse of everything it had been for thousands of years.
time dedication
I'm consistently active in SWC and will always check in daily in order to keep on top of things! On school days, I'll be able to contribute half an hour/an hour for most days.
Unfortunately, my schoolwork load has increased, so that will take more time than usual. Despite this, I'll still be able to contribute a few hours on weekends where I can work solidly.
As for plans that will affect my activity, during the first week of March, I have half-term break where I'll be away from home to be skiing! During this time, I will be able to check in but will not be contributing large amounts of writing. The next week I'm back at home and will be doing work experience, which will switch up my schedule slightly but shouldn't detract from any responsibilities.
time management
Similarly to most, I'm an unfortunate victim of the looming presence in the room when it comes to time management- procrastination. I struggle with starting tasks that I don't want to do or fear that I will not enjoy. This doesn't have a direct impact on SWC work, but does influence my schoolwork, which have have a general negative impact on my productivity, Also, strangely, I find it difficult often to complete tasks- procrastinating finishing?- due to perfectionism. I'm working on these negative traits with a councilor but have a long way to go yet.
I should also mention that I am a very busy person- what with practice before school daily and other extracurriculars after, my schedule is packed. It can be a struggle to fit in all the activities I so desperately want to do.
collaboration + assets
Throughout my (quite long) time in SWC, I think I've improved my collaboration skills significantly. My greatest strength is my skill in communication- I'm able to express myself enthusiastically, clearly and friendlily. I'm able to easily express my ideas to not only the leader team but also to campers. Also, my openness allows me to get to know people quickly and form strong bonds <3 Leading off of my planning skills, I'm good at delegating tasks to different members of our team and ensuring that everybody is happy with their responsibilities. I'm coming to recognize my personal weaknesses, and how evening the workload between the members of our team can really help things to run smoothly.
However, I'm certainly not without my weaknesses in collaboration- my primary one being high expectations. In
everuthing that I do, I hold very high expectations for myself
and others. This is alright to an extent, but I need to learn
when to back down and accept that nothing can be perfect.
Sometimes, I end up fixating on details and ignoring more
pressing matters. Sometimes I expect too much of others,
which can lead to dissapointment despite a wonderful job
being done. It's a real weakness.
As for assets that I bring to a team, I'm not only a friendly and positive presence in a team, but I'm also a great critical thinker and problem solver. This, combined with my strengths in communication mean that I'm good at handling what could be tricky situations. I'm dedicated and passionate, and believe that my enthusiasm shows through in my work. Overall, I'm a quite well-rounded person when it comes to cabin leadership. As for some hard skills that I possess, I'm an avid artist and graphic designer, so I love to contribute to thumbnails, profile pictures and the like! I'm a creative thinker that comes up with novel ideas in our storyline. Also, I'm relatively experienced in programming, if it's required!
quality
One quality I think that I embody in SWC is passion. I truly love SWC- this community has changed my life for the better, and I try every session to do my best to pay this positivity forwards. A passionate leader is self-starting, they go out of their way to contribute to their cabin. They always give 100% in their duties, and I believe that you can see the impact of such passion come through. They are committed and stay on top of things, because when you have a passion for something, from my experience, all you want to do is keep working on it! Personally, I embody passion by putting in maximum effort in anything I do that's SWC-related. I embody passion by always being present in cabin or Main Cabin comments and always being enthusiastic. Oh, and yeah- my passion does sometimes come out in my competitiveness
atmosphere
A spirited and competitive cabin aiming to foster lifelong friendships, explore an exciting storyline and have great vibes!" (125 chars)
checkboxes
I will be avaliable to help add points in the Main Cabin consistently throughout camp
I'm willing to share a promotional project for SWC
faq
I can complete all responsibilities listed in the FAQ
inactivity
In the case of inactivity, it's especially important to facilitate good communication. For example, if I were to go inactive, I would ensure that anybody who is affected (leader team, hosts, campers ect) would know in advance. I'd plan around my absence to ensure that all gaps are filled. In the case of a co-leader going inactive, I'd firstly prioritize which tasks must be completed urgently. I'd communicate on behalf of the absent person and wouldn't be afraid to ask for external help, if needed. I'm actually very experienced in situations like these, and have previously been able to run a cabin pretty much solo.
Hiya! I'm CD- welcome to my co-leader application! I use they/them pronouns and live (usually) in est
Usually when I introduce myself, I feel obliged to mention music in some way, as it's just such a huge part of who I am- and this time will be no different
I listen to music obsessively, and love a variety of genres- favourite right now by far being jazz hip-hop. I'm really into 90's NY jazz rap- artists like A Tribe Called Quest and Diggable Planets. That music has my SOUL. Additionally, I love Brazilian rock/reggae and also listen to game osts/weirdcore I also play quite a few instruments- I've played piano for over a decade, and also play clarinet, alto/sopranosax, flute, recorder (yes, it is a real instrument!) and am currently learning the bassoon- I'm the only player in my entire (very small) country :0 If you want to find me at school, I'll be in the band room
I'm an artist as well- I draw traditionally, digitally, and also make crafts a ton. I recently launched my ownjewelry business
I love basketball and hope to play it properly in my life- it's just one of those things where if I hadn't found it, I don't really know what I= would be doing with myself (in sports). Favourite players include Luka and Wemby! I love to read (recently read The House in the Cerulean Sea, Six of Crows again lmao and Bill Bryson's Short History of Nearly Everything (physics nerd moment) I also love to write poetry, and have recently discovered (because of class :skull: ) that I'm actually quite the analytical essay writer (me when I can include features of the gothic in my analysis <33333)
And finally, as I've yapped for quite enough time, I love video games. I play Minecraft often with my friends- SWC mc server when? /j- and also love horror games such as FNAF and DDLC. The game my app is based on, Slay the Princess, is a recent find of mine and probably the best “horror” game I've ever encountered. It's an absolute masterpiece in phycological themes and brilliant writing that I would recommend to exactly everybody. It's not so much a game as a novel in itself- really, I encourage anybody who loves good stories to give this game a try. It's incredible. If you want to know any more about it, please let me know because I could talk for hours <3
Anyways- thank you for viewing my application, and welcome!
(p.s. I forgot to mention but ARCANE. Also I'm in the chess community too lmao)
participation
Previously, I have participated in 12 SWC sessions- this will be my 13th :0 Throughout my time here, i have been leader three times (Horror Reality Jul ‘23, Solarpunk City Jul ’24 and the Bi-Fi Dreamscape, Nov ‘24) and I’ve been co-leader 4 times! (Camp Contemp March ‘22, Thriller Ocean Expedition Nov ’22, Adventure Ruins March ‘23 and Sci-Fi Database Match ’24) I've also led the Graffiti cabin in SAC and Fantasy in ITWC. During sessions, I'm often heading the storyline, as I love creating exciting plotlines for our campers <3 I also like to draw pfps and banners ect
In the wider camp, I've been a writing competition panelist, a member of the memory book committee as well as adding Main Cabin points and being a writerfor the Daily Team
Outside of SWC, I love to take on leadership roles- I have been House Captain, Prefect and Student Council multiple times! Additionally, I've led our Battle of the Books team and captained our school's basketball team.
I sit first chair in band and orchestra and have recently performed as solo clarinetist on a few occasions. I led my delegation in the Princeton Senior MUN conference and have led my team in national debate and maths competitions! I really enjoy leadership, so I'm always looking for opportunities to be a leader.
cabin prefs
I don't have any strong cabin preferences this session, especially as I'm only applying for co-leader. As always, I'd be delighted to be a part of any cabin! I'll say that I would prefer not to co-lead Thriller, Horror or Solarpunk as I've previously (co)led these genres. I have a particular affinity for Dystopian and Poetry!
I don't tend to come equipped with specific ideas for cabin plotlines, as one of my favourite parts of SWC is cabin planning with your cos <3
Due to my competitive nature I would rather not co-lead TCTWNW.
excerpt
The only world that four people had ever known was crumbling at its foundations.
For a hundred years, the solid stone that was the base of a cliffside empire had been eroding. At first it was slow. Small chunks of rock would break free from the edges of the cliffs and plummet thousands of feet down, into a misty pink abyss that lurked under the mountains of Laweliniy. The echoes of the fallen rock crashing against the cliff would reverberate back up to the ears of the inhabitants of the empire. It was a haunting, ghostly melody.
As years passed, larger boulders of stone began to break apart from the weathered cliff. Half a century passed. The boulders that would tear apart from the cliff were now big enough to take down houses and buildings with it into the fog below. The city was nervous. And that nervousness erupted into pure terror when one day entire miles of infrastructure, along with innocent lives, collapsed into the void and was lost to eternity.
The mighty society began to crumble. Every day, new reports of disasters never seen before filtered into the minds of the terrified citizens of Laweliniy. The government scrambled to keep the calm and to fix the gaping hole in the empire. But nothing anyone would do seemed to help.
The city was doomed to a final day before the collapse of everything it had been for thousands of years.
time dedication
I'm consistently active in SWC and will always check in daily in order to keep on top of things! On school days, I'll be able to contribute half an hour/an hour for most days.
Unfortunately, my schoolwork load has increased, so that will take more time than usual. Despite this, I'll still be able to contribute a few hours on weekends where I can work solidly.
As for plans that will affect my activity, during the first week of March, I have half-term break where I'll be away from home to be skiing! During this time, I will be able to check in but will not be contributing large amounts of writing. The next week I'm back at home and will be doing work experience, which will switch up my schedule slightly but shouldn't detract from any responsibilities.
time management
Similarly to most, I'm an unfortunate victim of the looming presence in the room when it comes to time management- procrastination. I struggle with starting tasks that I don't want to do or fear that I will not enjoy. This doesn't have a direct impact on SWC work, but does influence my schoolwork, which have have a general negative impact on my productivity, Also, strangely, I find it difficult often to complete tasks- procrastinating finishing?- due to perfectionism. I'm working on these negative traits with a councilor but have a long way to go yet.
I should also mention that I am a very busy person- what with practice before school daily and other extracurriculars after, my schedule is packed. It can be a struggle to fit in all the activities I so desperately want to do.
collaboration + assets
Throughout my (quite long) time in SWC, I think I've improved my collaboration skills significantly. My greatest strength is my skill in communication- I'm able to express myself enthusiastically, clearly and friendlily. I'm able to easily express my ideas to not only the leader team but also to campers. Also, my openness allows me to get to know people quickly and form strong bonds <3 Leading off of my planning skills, I'm good at delegating tasks to different members of our team and ensuring that everybody is happy with their responsibilities. I'm coming to recognize my personal weaknesses, and how evening the workload between the members of our team can really help things to run smoothly.
However, I'm certainly not without my weaknesses in collaboration- my primary one being high expectations. In
everuthing that I do, I hold very high expectations for myself
and others. This is alright to an extent, but I need to learn
when to back down and accept that nothing can be perfect.
Sometimes, I end up fixating on details and ignoring more
pressing matters. Sometimes I expect too much of others,
which can lead to dissapointment despite a wonderful job
being done. It's a real weakness.
As for assets that I bring to a team, I'm not only a friendly and positive presence in a team, but I'm also a great critical thinker and problem solver. This, combined with my strengths in communication mean that I'm good at handling what could be tricky situations. I'm dedicated and passionate, and believe that my enthusiasm shows through in my work. Overall, I'm a quite well-rounded person when it comes to cabin leadership. As for some hard skills that I possess, I'm an avid artist and graphic designer, so I love to contribute to thumbnails, profile pictures and the like! I'm a creative thinker that comes up with novel ideas in our storyline. Also, I'm relatively experienced in programming, if it's required!
quality
One quality I think that I embody in SWC is passion. I truly love SWC- this community has changed my life for the better, and I try every session to do my best to pay this positivity forwards. A passionate leader is self-starting, they go out of their way to contribute to their cabin. They always give 100% in their duties, and I believe that you can see the impact of such passion come through. They are committed and stay on top of things, because when you have a passion for something, from my experience, all you want to do is keep working on it! Personally, I embody passion by putting in maximum effort in anything I do that's SWC-related. I embody passion by always being present in cabin or Main Cabin comments and always being enthusiastic. Oh, and yeah- my passion does sometimes come out in my competitiveness
atmosphere
A spirited and competitive cabin aiming to foster lifelong friendships, explore an exciting storyline and have great vibes!" (125 chars)
checkboxes
I will be avaliable to help add points in the Main Cabin consistently throughout camp
I'm willing to share a promotional project for SWC
faq
I can complete all responsibilities listed in the FAQ
inactivity
In the case of inactivity, it's especially important to facilitate good communication. For example, if I were to go inactive, I would ensure that anybody who is affected (leader team, hosts, campers ect) would know in advance. I'd plan around my absence to ensure that all gaps are filled. In the case of a co-leader going inactive, I'd firstly prioritize which tasks must be completed urgently. I'd communicate on behalf of the absent person and wouldn't be afraid to ask for external help, if needed. I'm actually very experienced in situations like these, and have previously been able to run a cabin pretty much solo.
- -WildClan-
-
Scratcher
100+ posts
swc megathread ⌕ nov 2024
Tell us about yourself!
Please include your nickname, pronouns, and, optionally, timezone.
Helloooo! Call me Wild. I mainly use they/them pronouns, but any are fine. I live in the Pacific timezone, where I spend my days doing homework and reading webcomics. I enjoy creative writing (obviously), digital art, and paper crafts. Outside of my creative pursuits, I’m a dinosaur nerd, a fan of social deduction games, and a cat lover. I’m interested in biology, particularly genetics. I choose my fandoms like I do my friends: Only a handful, but I stick with them for a long, long time. My favorite book series are Warriors and Wings of Fire, and my favorite webcomics are Homestuck, xkcd, and SMBC. I love music and am constantly trying to expand my playlists- I can’t really pick favorites there.
Previous Participation
Have you previously participated in SWC? If so, in what roles? In either case, what experience do you have with writing and/or leadership positions, on and off Scratch?
I’ve been in SWC for 3 years, my first session being March 2022. I haven’t missed a session since! However, I’ve always been just a camper- this is my first time applying for (co)leader. I have a lot of experience with writing; I’ve loved it ever since I tried NaNoWriMo YWP for the first time in 6th grade. I’m currently in a Creative Writing class at my school. As for leadership positions, I’ve played important roles in several school clubs, including Science Olympiad, Rock Painting, and Whale Warriors. I also enjoy doing personal collab projects with my friends, in which I’m typically the one organizing and leading.
Cabin Preferences
What cabins would you prefer to lead? This may be any pre-existing cabin genre, or potential new cabins. See the description for a list of past genres.
Please also include how you feel about (co)leading the Cabin that Will Not Win (info in description).
My favorite cabin genre is Sci-Fi, but Fantasy, Bizarro, and Nonfiction are also very cool. I’d honestly be okay leading any cabin; I’m pretty flexible and it’s nice to get out of my comfort zone once in a while. I’d prefer to not (co)lead TCTWNT, though, as I have a fierce love of competition.
Excerpt
Please provide an excerpt of your writing. It can be in any form - use what you believe represents your style the best.
Look inside me, said I. I am not afraid of the darkness.
Look inside me, said the void. I am the darkness.
It opened into the mountain, arching upward, inward, offering an infinity of depth. An ancient cave, its existence untouched by the coming and going of days and daylight. The cool, eerie stillness of the air contained the scent of time itself. No moon, no stars. Nothing ever shone here.
I took a breath and stepped inside.
The emptiness swallowed me whole, and I lost myself within it. Became it. The tunnels twisted into formless shapes, patternless geometry. A labyrinth of silence.
But as I mapped the caverns and crevices, consumed in wonder at the immensity of it all, a wayward thought noted something curious. The ways branched, combined, curved back in on themselves, but somehow I never crossed back over my own scent trail. I followed a path in a circular route, never returning to the beginning. Wasn’t a circle supposed to start where it ended? Or was that a memory of a different life, somewhere I had left behind long ago? Perhaps all the unwritten rules of the universe did not apply here. Why should they, after all? This place was outside, other. It only existed within itself.
These musings were just beginning to take hold in my mind when the tunnel opened up into a vast ravine, the darkness concealing immeasurable quantities of space, extending outward in all directions. I kept to the wall, brushing up against the grooves and ridges carved into the stone. Some were etched deeper than others, and it crossed into my awareness that they did not feel natural, created out of purpose rather than coincidence. Symbols, runes? The nocturnal musings of some other explorer who wandered into these depths?
Adrift in nameless thoughts, I carried on through the ravine until a tremor in the air, just the smallest of vibrations, made me stop. I could not see ahead of me; indeed, not a single photon of light had not reached my eyes since I entered, but some unknown sense deep within me suddenly awoke, pulsing with life.
A green glow- strangely familiar, yet so alien- rose behind me, casting my shadow upon the wall I found myself facing. If I had been rational, perhaps I would have assumed I was hallucinating; my eyes, blinded for so long, had conjured light where there was none. However, I merely watched as my shadowed form, nebulous and ever-shifting as the wind, took on a life of its own.
And in that moment, I heard its thoughts, and they were my thoughts, but I was no longer who I was. The shadow within the light was more real than the shadow within the void. So, my mind, free of its body and the bitter taste of impermanence, spread its wings and became the universe.
Here now, there were many voices, many lights, many shadows, and I was the silence in which they existed, the darkness that they were a part of, the pieces of myself that created me even as I created them.
But then, from where did the light come?
I turned around.
They stood before me, a visage of another shadow, but with a glowing orb to crown their form, an unnatural green radiance dissolving out into the nothingness. Yet, still, they were just a part of me as I was part of them. The light, too, was something I held within myself. I could see it now- a purplish-blue luminescence shone all around me, lighting up a path through the maze. Reaching back down into my pelt, into my paws, I stepped forward, following the trail.
They watched me go. I would be back. We both knew that. But for now… for now I had to leave. Past the carvings, through the tunnels, out of the labyrinth.
When I at last reached the opening through which I had once entered, the world tried to blind me with its overwhelming brightness. However, I would remember. I would carry it all in my mind, where it had come from.
I had looked inside, and found I was the darkness.
And the darkness looked inside, and found I was the light.
Time Dedication
What amount of time do you expect to be able to dedicate to SWC? What plans do you have that could affect your activity?
As a senior in high school, I do still have school responsibilities to attend to. The plus side is that scholarship essays can count for SWC words. Two weeks of March is spring break, but that shouldn’t affect my activity levels too much, only the times in which I’ll be online. Other than that, I don’t believe I have any plans. I ought to be able to dedicate at least 3-6 hours a day to SWC on average.
Time Management
What are your skills and shortcomings in time management?
You all probably know me well enough by now to recognize that time management is my fatal flaw- I admit, I’m a massive procrastinator. I wait until the last day or two almost every time I get a large project. Still, this flaw can also be an incredible strength: I am productive like no other when I know I’m running up against a deadline. I live for this thrill, relentlessly focused on my goal, and somehow, I almost always manage to succeed just in the nick of time, submitting whatever it is mere minutes before the due date. “Necessity is the mother of invention” is a saying I tend to live by in these situations, as it’s when I’m under the most pressure that I’m most creative. And I don’t settle for bad-quality work; I’d prefer to devote more time than necessary to something I care about just to ensure the final product goes above and beyond expectations. Since SWC is one of the things I care about the most, the amount of time I’d be willing to pour into a cabin as a (co)leader is huge!
Collaboration & Assets
What are your strengths and weaknesses in working with others? What assets would you bring to a leading team?
My greatest strength in working with others is that I can adapt to whatever role is needed. You want someone to organize and direct everyone’s efforts? Sure, I’ll rise to the occasion. Or how about someone who runs messages and ensures the team is able to communicate efficiently? I can do that too. An ideas guy? I can work with this! Basically, any role you need me to do, I can fill it. You could say I’m a “Wild” card in that respect, huh? (Heheh, fine, I’ll see myself out xD) My greatest weakness in team projects is the same as my time management weakness; my tendency to procrastinate can cause stress for those I’m working with. Sometimes, I need someone to nag at me to get going, and I understand this, so don’t worry if you have to pester me about doing something. In fact, I appreciate it! So long as I’m reminded to stay on task from time to time, I’m the epitome of productivity. Some other assets I’d bring to the job of (co)leader are my resourcefulness, my competitive drive, and my ability to consider issues from multiple perspectives and react accordingly.
One Quality
What is one quality you think you embody and how can you apply this to leadership in SWC?
One quality I embody is thoughtfulness. I like to think situations over carefully and understand the point of view of everyone involved before taking action. It’s a quality I love about SWC leadership in general- everyone is so respectful of how each camper comes from a different background and has unique interests. It allows this community to be incredibly supportive while still allowing for excitement and competition. I believe I could uphold this tradition by applying my thoughtfulness to both meticulous cabin planning and connecting with campers, which are arguably the most important responsibilities of a (co)leader.
Cabin Atmosphere
What cabin atmosphere do you aim to create? For example: relaxed and easygoing with a focus on personal projects, geared towards competition, etc.
Please write under 200 characters! More information on why can be found in the FAQ.
“Competitive and interactive, we’ll focus on goal-setting, with an aim to help each camper make progress towards their individual ambitions—and have a great time in the process!”
Checkboxes
A. Check all that apply:
* I will be available to help add points in the main cabin consistently throughout camp.
* I’m willing to share a promotional project for SWC.
B. Are there any leadership responsibilities listed in the FAQ you cannot complete? If any, please elaborate.
C. In the case of inactive leadership (either by yourself, or by a fellow leader), what steps will you take to ensure that the cabin can still move on smoothly?
A
I will be available to help add points in the main cabin consistently throughout camp.
I’m willing to share a promotional project for SWC.
B
No, I believe I’m capable of fulfilling all of the responsibilities listed. Then again, I’ve never (co)led before, so it’s possible I might struggle with certain tasks more than I anticipated. The “Updating word counts in a timely manner” is the task that would most likely present a problem to me and my inexhaustible supply of procrastination potatoes, but with some sustained effort, I could still manage to complete that task.
C
If an emergency comes up in my personal life that forces me to be inactive, I’ll do the best I can to provide my fellow leaders with all the necessary information to take over my role. In fact, I’d probably do that ahead of time anyway, just as a safety measure, since I like to be prepared for the unexpected. In the case that it’s a fellow leader who goes inactive, I’ll discuss what to do with my remaining teammates and we can work out a solution together. Depending on the situation, we may split the inactive person’s responsibilities between us or restructure the cabin functions slightly. If it’s relevant to the cabin storyline, we can figure out a way to explain the person’s absence and even turn it into a valuable, interesting plot point.
Bonus Theme
We have decided to introduce a new theme-based question - one that will be fun and creative, while also relating to our current session’s theme <3
“If you were to build a train route to any one place in the world, where would it be, and why?”
This question is completely optional - it will not be taken into consideration when we are making our decisions, and is only here for a bit of fun (and moonlit would love to hear your answers <3)
Assuming practicality and expense are non-issues, I would say the bottom of the Mariana Trench would be an interesting place to have a train route to. The “train” would have to be built like a submarine, specially designed to withstand the incredible amounts of pressure in the depths of the ocean, but it could still run on rails and have multiple train cars. Underwater trains are already a thing, so it’d be awesome to take that idea to its logical extreme and go all the way to the deepest place on Earth. We still don’t know everything that lurks in our vast seas, and this train would help us explore and learn more about what life is like down there. I think it’d be awe-inspiring. :00
Please include your nickname, pronouns, and, optionally, timezone.
Helloooo! Call me Wild. I mainly use they/them pronouns, but any are fine. I live in the Pacific timezone, where I spend my days doing homework and reading webcomics. I enjoy creative writing (obviously), digital art, and paper crafts. Outside of my creative pursuits, I’m a dinosaur nerd, a fan of social deduction games, and a cat lover. I’m interested in biology, particularly genetics. I choose my fandoms like I do my friends: Only a handful, but I stick with them for a long, long time. My favorite book series are Warriors and Wings of Fire, and my favorite webcomics are Homestuck, xkcd, and SMBC. I love music and am constantly trying to expand my playlists- I can’t really pick favorites there.
Previous Participation
Have you previously participated in SWC? If so, in what roles? In either case, what experience do you have with writing and/or leadership positions, on and off Scratch?
I’ve been in SWC for 3 years, my first session being March 2022. I haven’t missed a session since! However, I’ve always been just a camper- this is my first time applying for (co)leader. I have a lot of experience with writing; I’ve loved it ever since I tried NaNoWriMo YWP for the first time in 6th grade. I’m currently in a Creative Writing class at my school. As for leadership positions, I’ve played important roles in several school clubs, including Science Olympiad, Rock Painting, and Whale Warriors. I also enjoy doing personal collab projects with my friends, in which I’m typically the one organizing and leading.
Cabin Preferences
What cabins would you prefer to lead? This may be any pre-existing cabin genre, or potential new cabins. See the description for a list of past genres.
Please also include how you feel about (co)leading the Cabin that Will Not Win (info in description).
My favorite cabin genre is Sci-Fi, but Fantasy, Bizarro, and Nonfiction are also very cool. I’d honestly be okay leading any cabin; I’m pretty flexible and it’s nice to get out of my comfort zone once in a while. I’d prefer to not (co)lead TCTWNT, though, as I have a fierce love of competition.
Excerpt
Please provide an excerpt of your writing. It can be in any form - use what you believe represents your style the best.
Look inside me, said I. I am not afraid of the darkness.
Look inside me, said the void. I am the darkness.
It opened into the mountain, arching upward, inward, offering an infinity of depth. An ancient cave, its existence untouched by the coming and going of days and daylight. The cool, eerie stillness of the air contained the scent of time itself. No moon, no stars. Nothing ever shone here.
I took a breath and stepped inside.
The emptiness swallowed me whole, and I lost myself within it. Became it. The tunnels twisted into formless shapes, patternless geometry. A labyrinth of silence.
But as I mapped the caverns and crevices, consumed in wonder at the immensity of it all, a wayward thought noted something curious. The ways branched, combined, curved back in on themselves, but somehow I never crossed back over my own scent trail. I followed a path in a circular route, never returning to the beginning. Wasn’t a circle supposed to start where it ended? Or was that a memory of a different life, somewhere I had left behind long ago? Perhaps all the unwritten rules of the universe did not apply here. Why should they, after all? This place was outside, other. It only existed within itself.
These musings were just beginning to take hold in my mind when the tunnel opened up into a vast ravine, the darkness concealing immeasurable quantities of space, extending outward in all directions. I kept to the wall, brushing up against the grooves and ridges carved into the stone. Some were etched deeper than others, and it crossed into my awareness that they did not feel natural, created out of purpose rather than coincidence. Symbols, runes? The nocturnal musings of some other explorer who wandered into these depths?
Adrift in nameless thoughts, I carried on through the ravine until a tremor in the air, just the smallest of vibrations, made me stop. I could not see ahead of me; indeed, not a single photon of light had not reached my eyes since I entered, but some unknown sense deep within me suddenly awoke, pulsing with life.
A green glow- strangely familiar, yet so alien- rose behind me, casting my shadow upon the wall I found myself facing. If I had been rational, perhaps I would have assumed I was hallucinating; my eyes, blinded for so long, had conjured light where there was none. However, I merely watched as my shadowed form, nebulous and ever-shifting as the wind, took on a life of its own.
And in that moment, I heard its thoughts, and they were my thoughts, but I was no longer who I was. The shadow within the light was more real than the shadow within the void. So, my mind, free of its body and the bitter taste of impermanence, spread its wings and became the universe.
Here now, there were many voices, many lights, many shadows, and I was the silence in which they existed, the darkness that they were a part of, the pieces of myself that created me even as I created them.
But then, from where did the light come?
I turned around.
They stood before me, a visage of another shadow, but with a glowing orb to crown their form, an unnatural green radiance dissolving out into the nothingness. Yet, still, they were just a part of me as I was part of them. The light, too, was something I held within myself. I could see it now- a purplish-blue luminescence shone all around me, lighting up a path through the maze. Reaching back down into my pelt, into my paws, I stepped forward, following the trail.
They watched me go. I would be back. We both knew that. But for now… for now I had to leave. Past the carvings, through the tunnels, out of the labyrinth.
When I at last reached the opening through which I had once entered, the world tried to blind me with its overwhelming brightness. However, I would remember. I would carry it all in my mind, where it had come from.
I had looked inside, and found I was the darkness.
And the darkness looked inside, and found I was the light.
Time Dedication
What amount of time do you expect to be able to dedicate to SWC? What plans do you have that could affect your activity?
As a senior in high school, I do still have school responsibilities to attend to. The plus side is that scholarship essays can count for SWC words. Two weeks of March is spring break, but that shouldn’t affect my activity levels too much, only the times in which I’ll be online. Other than that, I don’t believe I have any plans. I ought to be able to dedicate at least 3-6 hours a day to SWC on average.
Time Management
What are your skills and shortcomings in time management?
You all probably know me well enough by now to recognize that time management is my fatal flaw- I admit, I’m a massive procrastinator. I wait until the last day or two almost every time I get a large project. Still, this flaw can also be an incredible strength: I am productive like no other when I know I’m running up against a deadline. I live for this thrill, relentlessly focused on my goal, and somehow, I almost always manage to succeed just in the nick of time, submitting whatever it is mere minutes before the due date. “Necessity is the mother of invention” is a saying I tend to live by in these situations, as it’s when I’m under the most pressure that I’m most creative. And I don’t settle for bad-quality work; I’d prefer to devote more time than necessary to something I care about just to ensure the final product goes above and beyond expectations. Since SWC is one of the things I care about the most, the amount of time I’d be willing to pour into a cabin as a (co)leader is huge!
Collaboration & Assets
What are your strengths and weaknesses in working with others? What assets would you bring to a leading team?
My greatest strength in working with others is that I can adapt to whatever role is needed. You want someone to organize and direct everyone’s efforts? Sure, I’ll rise to the occasion. Or how about someone who runs messages and ensures the team is able to communicate efficiently? I can do that too. An ideas guy? I can work with this! Basically, any role you need me to do, I can fill it. You could say I’m a “Wild” card in that respect, huh? (Heheh, fine, I’ll see myself out xD) My greatest weakness in team projects is the same as my time management weakness; my tendency to procrastinate can cause stress for those I’m working with. Sometimes, I need someone to nag at me to get going, and I understand this, so don’t worry if you have to pester me about doing something. In fact, I appreciate it! So long as I’m reminded to stay on task from time to time, I’m the epitome of productivity. Some other assets I’d bring to the job of (co)leader are my resourcefulness, my competitive drive, and my ability to consider issues from multiple perspectives and react accordingly.
One Quality
What is one quality you think you embody and how can you apply this to leadership in SWC?
One quality I embody is thoughtfulness. I like to think situations over carefully and understand the point of view of everyone involved before taking action. It’s a quality I love about SWC leadership in general- everyone is so respectful of how each camper comes from a different background and has unique interests. It allows this community to be incredibly supportive while still allowing for excitement and competition. I believe I could uphold this tradition by applying my thoughtfulness to both meticulous cabin planning and connecting with campers, which are arguably the most important responsibilities of a (co)leader.
Cabin Atmosphere
What cabin atmosphere do you aim to create? For example: relaxed and easygoing with a focus on personal projects, geared towards competition, etc.
Please write under 200 characters! More information on why can be found in the FAQ.
“Competitive and interactive, we’ll focus on goal-setting, with an aim to help each camper make progress towards their individual ambitions—and have a great time in the process!”
Checkboxes
A. Check all that apply:
* I will be available to help add points in the main cabin consistently throughout camp.
* I’m willing to share a promotional project for SWC.
B. Are there any leadership responsibilities listed in the FAQ you cannot complete? If any, please elaborate.
C. In the case of inactive leadership (either by yourself, or by a fellow leader), what steps will you take to ensure that the cabin can still move on smoothly?
A
I will be available to help add points in the main cabin consistently throughout camp.
I’m willing to share a promotional project for SWC.
B
No, I believe I’m capable of fulfilling all of the responsibilities listed. Then again, I’ve never (co)led before, so it’s possible I might struggle with certain tasks more than I anticipated. The “Updating word counts in a timely manner” is the task that would most likely present a problem to me and my inexhaustible supply of procrastination potatoes, but with some sustained effort, I could still manage to complete that task.
C
If an emergency comes up in my personal life that forces me to be inactive, I’ll do the best I can to provide my fellow leaders with all the necessary information to take over my role. In fact, I’d probably do that ahead of time anyway, just as a safety measure, since I like to be prepared for the unexpected. In the case that it’s a fellow leader who goes inactive, I’ll discuss what to do with my remaining teammates and we can work out a solution together. Depending on the situation, we may split the inactive person’s responsibilities between us or restructure the cabin functions slightly. If it’s relevant to the cabin storyline, we can figure out a way to explain the person’s absence and even turn it into a valuable, interesting plot point.
Bonus Theme
We have decided to introduce a new theme-based question - one that will be fun and creative, while also relating to our current session’s theme <3
“If you were to build a train route to any one place in the world, where would it be, and why?”
This question is completely optional - it will not be taken into consideration when we are making our decisions, and is only here for a bit of fun (and moonlit would love to hear your answers <3)
Assuming practicality and expense are non-issues, I would say the bottom of the Mariana Trench would be an interesting place to have a train route to. The “train” would have to be built like a submarine, specially designed to withstand the incredible amounts of pressure in the depths of the ocean, but it could still run on rails and have multiple train cars. Underwater trains are already a thing, so it’d be awesome to take that idea to its logical extreme and go all the way to the deepest place on Earth. We still don’t know everything that lurks in our vast seas, and this train would help us explore and learn more about what life is like down there. I think it’d be awe-inspiring. :00
Last edited by -WildClan- (Jan. 19, 2025 01:19:09)
- -NightGlow-
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
swc megathread ⌕ nov 2024
the realms of music ♫ alana's swc leader app
word count - 2672 words
About Me:
Hello there! I’m Alana (she/her) who is more commonly known to be a magical banana llama tyrant that resides in the b(EST) timezone. Last time I checked, I’m an ENFJ-T who’s always looking for new opportunities to learn new things and get out of my comfort zone. I love getting involved and going on adventures because I truly believe in the saying that you’ll never really know until you give it a try <3
I think if I were to ask my friends to tell me the first word that comes to mind when they think of me, I can almost guarantee you that it will be dance. It really goes without saying because dance and music are practically my life and soul. I’ve grown up with them for so long and I couldn’t even begin to imagine what my life would be like if I had never gotten into these two things. I was always an energetic kid when I was younger, and I definitely still am! I started dancing at the age of three, and since then, I have never looked back. To this day I still feel like it’s one of the best decisions I have ever made. Coming to music, it’s also something that’s been a part of my life for such a long period of time, and I hope to continue pursuing it when I get older.
Aside from dance and music, my other interests include: graphic design, participating in STEM-related activities, coding, scrapbooking, watercolor painting. Like a handful of other SWC-ers, I absolutely love reading and writing! Some of my favorites being “A Wish in the Dark”, “The War that Saved My Life”, “Song of Achilles”, “A Song Called Home”, and “I Fell in Love With Hope”. Since I typically read in these genres, my writing also tends to be in genres of Fantasy, Hi-Fi, Real-Fi — though I’m always open to experimenting with new ones!
Some other things about me
Favorite color combo: blush pink, rose gold, black, and white (and generally pastel shades <3)
Favorite subject: Math and Computer Science
Favorite cuisines: Italian, Indian, Mediterranean, Thai, Mexican, Afghan, Chinese
Go-to desserts: Cheesecakes, tarts, and cupcakes!
Favorite ice cream flavor: Cookies n’ Cream
Previous Participation:
- Nov ‘22: Naan-Fi Breadhouse
- Camper (with Daisy, Birdi, and Sophie)
March ‘23: Non-Fi Fossil Dig
- Leader (with Finley and Waterfall)
- MBC committee member
July ‘23: War Between Two (Myth)
- Leader (with Wren)
- MBC Host
Nov ‘24: Script Misfits
- Leader (with Recca and Indigo)
- Daily Team
- MBC Host
March ‘24: Trapped in a Fairytale
- Leader (with Amethyst and Sienna)
- Daily Team
- Weekly 4: ICONs
- MBC Host
July ‘24: Bi-Fi Minion Mania
- Leader (with Pepper and Summer)
- Polar Bear coordinator
- MBC Host
Nov ‘24: Boba Tavern (Magical Realism)
- Leader (with CJ and Clev)
- Polar Bear executive
- MBC Host + SWC Tyrant
Outside of SWC, I’m always looking for new avenues to improve my leadership skills - whether be within the classroom, leading an exec team, or volunteering within the community. Being a “leader” is something that takes a lot of practice and experience. It doesn’t become a reality overnight, and you only get better by getting involved and taking chances to experiment outside of your comfort zone.
I have actively been involved in volunteering within my community (standardized tests tutoring, summer camp assistant, etc.) and I’m currently also the head of a youth committee in a non-profit organization. By getting involved in these activities, I’ve been able to encourage everyone to share their voice which has helped me grow not only as a leader, but also as a person.
Dedication:
During the months of February and March I will be occupied with school activities as well as my extracurricular commitments. Aside from exams (which end in January), I don’t believe that there is anything significant that will greatly limit my ability to contribute during cabin planning and overall cabin commitment. As of now, I believe that I should be able to dedicate roughly 2 - 3 hours of SWC on weekdays, and somewhere around that amount on weekends. I know this will change based on different things that come up, but I will adjust my schedule accordingly and make sure that my co-leaders are aware well in advance in order to successfully complete all of my assigned tasks on time.
Currently, I do know that I will be going on a short trip from February 6 - 8 for a competition, but I don’t think that would be of great hindrance to my overall activity. In addition to this, I have March break during the second week of March, so that should definitely give me more time to interact with my campers and catch up on any tasks I may be falling behind on.
Above all, I understand that life > SWC which means that I will notify my (co)leaders and fellow hosts promptly if I need to take a break due to something that is impacting my life IRL or if I am going to experience any form of inactivity. Communication is definitely key in any leadership setting, and that is why I want to be transparent and ensure that both my campers and (co)leaders are aware of any plans that may limit my activity so that proactive measures can be taken.
Genres:
This session I will be leading Fan-Fi - a cabin filled with so many possibilities! If the theme of this app is any indication, I had a “Battle of the Bands” theme in mind where the campers spend the month of March visiting different musical realms hidden across the world. I’m still debating the logistics in terms of who the campers are battling and how that will look like, but I believe that’s something that I can decide with my co’s once we get to planning! This is definitely going to be a storyline intensive cabin with changing aesthetic sets, updating pfps, and giving campers the chance to “visit” some of their dream artists. I never thought I would be leading Fan-Fi, but here I am, ready to make an unforgettable experience for all of my campers as well as myself <3
Battle of the Bands: Fan-Fi
Cabin theme ideas:
- Fan-Fi: Battle of the Bands
- Mystery: The Ice Kingdom
- Folklore: Vanishing Tales
- Hi-Fi: Fallen Ruins
- Lyric: The Wicked West
- Tragedy: Forgotten Heir
- Fantasy: Underwater Grotto
(I will not be leading TCTWNW this session <3)
Collaboration:
Some of my strengths in collaboration are…
- Listening to others: In group settings, I always listen to what others have to say before discussing my ideas - I may mention a few suggestions or concepts I’m hoping to flesh out here and there, but ultimately my goal is to hear what others think without feeling like they have to agree to what I’m saying.
By doing this, I hope to create a safe environment where everyone can feel comfortable sharing their ideas - when people have a fear of their ideas constantly being “shot down”, they will be less likely to share what they have to say. I’ve definitely learned this the hard way ^^’ But I now know that everyone has something valuable to contribute and it’s definitely worthwhile to hear people out and see what new perspective they can bring to the table.
- Flexibility: I find that I can manage to collaborate with most people, whether they’re a close friend or someone I haven’t really gotten along with, I always put those issues aside and ensure that it does not impact the project. A team member is a team member at the end of the day, and I want to ensure that all ideas are valued equally - I am not going to choose one thought over another because of some biases, I will make sure that all ideas are equally discussed so that a bit of each person can be included in the final project. My goal is to help everyone have a fun time, and to do that, yes, at times I’ll need to put aside my differences with people and find ways to collaborate. By showing people that what they have to say matters, I hope to make more lasting friendships with both new and old friends in the SWC community and beyond <3
Now coming to some weaknesses:
- Perfectionism: For all of my projects, I always carry a vision that I’d like to follow through with. I’ll assign tasks to people based on their interests, but I do sometimes worry that it will not be as grand as I had envisioned. Due to this, I’d often “redo” or go back and edit my group member’s work to ensure it meets all the criteria, for an assignment, for example. It was not only tedious for me to “clean up” after others, but it also undermined them, as people probably put a lot of effort into it <3 I’ve come to accept that everyone has their own way of doing things, and the outcome is not always going to end up how I envisioned - but that’s ok. Similar to how I prefer things a certain way, someone else may want it another - and as a leader, it is by job to understand and respect that ^^ (which does also include speaking out so that we can collectively solve and problems before they become bigger issues)
Assets I will bring to the leadership team:
- Organization: I believe I’m a fairly organized person, and that is a vital quality in any leadership team. Working with each other can come with its own challenges, but ensuring that everything progresses in a timely manner is even harder. I’ve found that I’m really productive when I create a breakdown or a list of some sorts with activities that I need to complete. I’ll organize these by priority and set due dates as well as reminders to keep me on track. Since leading can be quite a time consuming thing, I believe that organization is a key asset in order to succeed!
- Adaptability: As a leader it is vital to be adaptable - things are going to happen unexpectedly and there will definitely be some challenges you meet along the way. Over time I’ve learned that things may not turn out the way you had originally visioned, but that’s ok. All that matters is how you pick yourself up when things get tough, and that is exactly why I believe my skills in adaptability will be beneficial in the leadership team. Since I’m quite used to thinking quickly on my feet, whether that be with backup plans or new ideas, I feel like I will be able to remain calm when combating any challenges that we face within our team.
Time Management:
Strengths:
- Organized schedule: I love creating detailed schedules that carefully outline all the tasks that I need to do. Having this visual representation definitely helps me get started and it honestly just gives me a better idea of what I need to fit into my schedule. Although there are definitely times when I’m not able to complete stuff on time, I try my best to plan ahead to ensure that nothing gets negatively affected. In such a way, you might even say that these to-do lists just help me make sure that I don’t miss or overlook anything I previously set out to do
- Thinking quickly on my feet: Life is so unexpected and things happen all the time, whether we want them or not. I’ve come to learn there’s only so much you can do to stay prepared, which is why I value my ability to adapt and think quickly on my feet. When working on any project, I like to leave all the brainstormed ideas together just in case a backup needs to come in place. In addition to the to-do lists mentioned above, I plan ahead, keeping a few extra days before the deadline just in case anything unexpected delays my progress (or that of the group).
Weaknesses:
- Taking on too much: I’m often conscious about the amount of work and time I’m spending in group settings. This normally comes with the thought of believing that others have expectations for me, when in reality I’m doing more than enough. This causes me to take on more than I can handle simply for the fear of being seen as someone who does not contribute to the overall project. Whether it be for a presentation or an executive club motion, I like to stay involved (which is a great thing), but oftentimes it leads to additional unwanted panic that I wouldn’t of had to deal with in the first place.
- Need for perfection (prioritization): This kind of goes hand in hand with taking too much - as a proud perfectionist, I kind of have a vision for how I’d like everything to be. However, sometimes these visions are very unrealistic. Even for the simplest things, I tend to overcomplicate things from time to time, which isn’t really the best idea. Due to this, I sometimes turn even the simplest tasks into these huge projects, which cause me to stress out over something that might not matter as much. I have a high standard for myself and I know that I have the ability to reach those goals. However sometimes, these “goals” become too unrealistic and end up placing a lot of unnecessary pressure on myself.
One Quality:
I believe that a quality I embody is resilience - life is an adventure and unexpected things happen from time to time, but all that really matters is that you’re able to pick yourself up again and keep fighting for the things you believe in. Things don’t always go as planned in leadership settings and people (including myself) will make mistakes, but it’s really important to understand that that’s ok. No one always succeeds - there is always room for improvement and mistakes from time to time help us realize that. Everyone should realize that even experienced leaders make mistakes, and that’s completely fine. The only important thing is that they don’t try to hide it, but use it as a teachable moment to improve for the future.
As a (co)leader this session I will embody this trait by pushing through even when things get hard and understand that it’s ok if things don’t work out the first time. Whether it be issues with executing the storyline or inactivity problems, I will ensure that I preserve and show resilience by never giving up because there is always another way! I know that everyone makes mistakes, but honestly, they’re some of the best teachable moments. By reflecting on the past and knowing where I can improve, I hope to foster a positive leadership team where we can make a lot of fun, and chaotic memories!
Cabin Atmosphere:
Battle of the Bands: (194 characters)
From musical realms to magic galore, Battle of the Bands is the final stop in this once-in-a-lifetime journey! You’ll learn to work with your teammates, boost confidence, and make it to the top!
Checklist:
✓ I will be available to help add points in the main cabin consistently throughout camp
✓ I’m willing to share a promotional project for SWC
B. No, I can complete all of the (co)leader responsibilities that have been listed in the FAQ.
C. I understand the time dedication that leading requires and the responsibility that comes with being a leader in SWC. Knowing this, in the event I ever have to go inactive for whatever reason, I will contact my (co)leaders and discuss with the hosts as to what appropriate accommodations can be made to ensure that everything continues running as smoothly as possible. Alternatively, if one of my (co)leaders were to go inactive, I would try contacting them via profile comments and other places throughout Scratch. If I still don’t hear a response from them, I will discuss with the other hosts and consult my (co)leaders to decide what next steps should be taken.
Bonus - Train Route
I feel like I'd want to build a train route to Greece! I absolutely love their architecure and the cuisine there is absolutely delicious <3 Aside from that I'd probably also consider some tropical place like Goa. The backwaters are honestly so pretty and I'd love to go on a train ride close to those gorgeous sandy beaches!
word count - 2672 words
About Me:
Hello there! I’m Alana (she/her) who is more commonly known to be a magical banana llama tyrant that resides in the b(EST) timezone. Last time I checked, I’m an ENFJ-T who’s always looking for new opportunities to learn new things and get out of my comfort zone. I love getting involved and going on adventures because I truly believe in the saying that you’ll never really know until you give it a try <3
I think if I were to ask my friends to tell me the first word that comes to mind when they think of me, I can almost guarantee you that it will be dance. It really goes without saying because dance and music are practically my life and soul. I’ve grown up with them for so long and I couldn’t even begin to imagine what my life would be like if I had never gotten into these two things. I was always an energetic kid when I was younger, and I definitely still am! I started dancing at the age of three, and since then, I have never looked back. To this day I still feel like it’s one of the best decisions I have ever made. Coming to music, it’s also something that’s been a part of my life for such a long period of time, and I hope to continue pursuing it when I get older.
Aside from dance and music, my other interests include: graphic design, participating in STEM-related activities, coding, scrapbooking, watercolor painting. Like a handful of other SWC-ers, I absolutely love reading and writing! Some of my favorites being “A Wish in the Dark”, “The War that Saved My Life”, “Song of Achilles”, “A Song Called Home”, and “I Fell in Love With Hope”. Since I typically read in these genres, my writing also tends to be in genres of Fantasy, Hi-Fi, Real-Fi — though I’m always open to experimenting with new ones!
Some other things about me
Favorite color combo: blush pink, rose gold, black, and white (and generally pastel shades <3)
Favorite subject: Math and Computer Science
Favorite cuisines: Italian, Indian, Mediterranean, Thai, Mexican, Afghan, Chinese
Go-to desserts: Cheesecakes, tarts, and cupcakes!
Favorite ice cream flavor: Cookies n’ Cream
Previous Participation:
- Nov ‘22: Naan-Fi Breadhouse
- Camper (with Daisy, Birdi, and Sophie)
March ‘23: Non-Fi Fossil Dig
- Leader (with Finley and Waterfall)
- MBC committee member
July ‘23: War Between Two (Myth)
- Leader (with Wren)
- MBC Host
Nov ‘24: Script Misfits
- Leader (with Recca and Indigo)
- Daily Team
- MBC Host
March ‘24: Trapped in a Fairytale
- Leader (with Amethyst and Sienna)
- Daily Team
- Weekly 4: ICONs
- MBC Host
July ‘24: Bi-Fi Minion Mania
- Leader (with Pepper and Summer)
- Polar Bear coordinator
- MBC Host
Nov ‘24: Boba Tavern (Magical Realism)
- Leader (with CJ and Clev)
- Polar Bear executive
- MBC Host + SWC Tyrant
Outside of SWC, I’m always looking for new avenues to improve my leadership skills - whether be within the classroom, leading an exec team, or volunteering within the community. Being a “leader” is something that takes a lot of practice and experience. It doesn’t become a reality overnight, and you only get better by getting involved and taking chances to experiment outside of your comfort zone.
I have actively been involved in volunteering within my community (standardized tests tutoring, summer camp assistant, etc.) and I’m currently also the head of a youth committee in a non-profit organization. By getting involved in these activities, I’ve been able to encourage everyone to share their voice which has helped me grow not only as a leader, but also as a person.
Dedication:
During the months of February and March I will be occupied with school activities as well as my extracurricular commitments. Aside from exams (which end in January), I don’t believe that there is anything significant that will greatly limit my ability to contribute during cabin planning and overall cabin commitment. As of now, I believe that I should be able to dedicate roughly 2 - 3 hours of SWC on weekdays, and somewhere around that amount on weekends. I know this will change based on different things that come up, but I will adjust my schedule accordingly and make sure that my co-leaders are aware well in advance in order to successfully complete all of my assigned tasks on time.
Currently, I do know that I will be going on a short trip from February 6 - 8 for a competition, but I don’t think that would be of great hindrance to my overall activity. In addition to this, I have March break during the second week of March, so that should definitely give me more time to interact with my campers and catch up on any tasks I may be falling behind on.
Above all, I understand that life > SWC which means that I will notify my (co)leaders and fellow hosts promptly if I need to take a break due to something that is impacting my life IRL or if I am going to experience any form of inactivity. Communication is definitely key in any leadership setting, and that is why I want to be transparent and ensure that both my campers and (co)leaders are aware of any plans that may limit my activity so that proactive measures can be taken.
Genres:
This session I will be leading Fan-Fi - a cabin filled with so many possibilities! If the theme of this app is any indication, I had a “Battle of the Bands” theme in mind where the campers spend the month of March visiting different musical realms hidden across the world. I’m still debating the logistics in terms of who the campers are battling and how that will look like, but I believe that’s something that I can decide with my co’s once we get to planning! This is definitely going to be a storyline intensive cabin with changing aesthetic sets, updating pfps, and giving campers the chance to “visit” some of their dream artists. I never thought I would be leading Fan-Fi, but here I am, ready to make an unforgettable experience for all of my campers as well as myself <3
Battle of the Bands: Fan-Fi
- Campers have been hired by a tour agency to come together and uncover an ongoing threat that lurks beneath the shadows - as training continues, the campers proceed to go on tour, journeying to different musical realms
- At each realm (pop, classical, funk, etc.) there will be certain artists, song opportunities, amongst many other events that campers can attend to uncover clues
- The campers get invited to join an event called “Battle of the Bands” and the whole world is relying on their success so that the villains don’t succeed in destroying the musical realms
- The fanfiction component in this is definitely the different artists and songs that are going to be curated in the projects and clues! I’m really excited to work with my co’s to get the specifics on this though
Cabin theme ideas:
- Fan-Fi: Battle of the Bands
- Mystery: The Ice Kingdom
- Folklore: Vanishing Tales
- Hi-Fi: Fallen Ruins
- Lyric: The Wicked West
- Tragedy: Forgotten Heir
- Fantasy: Underwater Grotto
(I will not be leading TCTWNW this session <3)
Collaboration:
Some of my strengths in collaboration are…
- Listening to others: In group settings, I always listen to what others have to say before discussing my ideas - I may mention a few suggestions or concepts I’m hoping to flesh out here and there, but ultimately my goal is to hear what others think without feeling like they have to agree to what I’m saying.
By doing this, I hope to create a safe environment where everyone can feel comfortable sharing their ideas - when people have a fear of their ideas constantly being “shot down”, they will be less likely to share what they have to say. I’ve definitely learned this the hard way ^^’ But I now know that everyone has something valuable to contribute and it’s definitely worthwhile to hear people out and see what new perspective they can bring to the table.
- Flexibility: I find that I can manage to collaborate with most people, whether they’re a close friend or someone I haven’t really gotten along with, I always put those issues aside and ensure that it does not impact the project. A team member is a team member at the end of the day, and I want to ensure that all ideas are valued equally - I am not going to choose one thought over another because of some biases, I will make sure that all ideas are equally discussed so that a bit of each person can be included in the final project. My goal is to help everyone have a fun time, and to do that, yes, at times I’ll need to put aside my differences with people and find ways to collaborate. By showing people that what they have to say matters, I hope to make more lasting friendships with both new and old friends in the SWC community and beyond <3
Now coming to some weaknesses:
- Perfectionism: For all of my projects, I always carry a vision that I’d like to follow through with. I’ll assign tasks to people based on their interests, but I do sometimes worry that it will not be as grand as I had envisioned. Due to this, I’d often “redo” or go back and edit my group member’s work to ensure it meets all the criteria, for an assignment, for example. It was not only tedious for me to “clean up” after others, but it also undermined them, as people probably put a lot of effort into it <3 I’ve come to accept that everyone has their own way of doing things, and the outcome is not always going to end up how I envisioned - but that’s ok. Similar to how I prefer things a certain way, someone else may want it another - and as a leader, it is by job to understand and respect that ^^ (which does also include speaking out so that we can collectively solve and problems before they become bigger issues)
Assets I will bring to the leadership team:
- Organization: I believe I’m a fairly organized person, and that is a vital quality in any leadership team. Working with each other can come with its own challenges, but ensuring that everything progresses in a timely manner is even harder. I’ve found that I’m really productive when I create a breakdown or a list of some sorts with activities that I need to complete. I’ll organize these by priority and set due dates as well as reminders to keep me on track. Since leading can be quite a time consuming thing, I believe that organization is a key asset in order to succeed!
- Adaptability: As a leader it is vital to be adaptable - things are going to happen unexpectedly and there will definitely be some challenges you meet along the way. Over time I’ve learned that things may not turn out the way you had originally visioned, but that’s ok. All that matters is how you pick yourself up when things get tough, and that is exactly why I believe my skills in adaptability will be beneficial in the leadership team. Since I’m quite used to thinking quickly on my feet, whether that be with backup plans or new ideas, I feel like I will be able to remain calm when combating any challenges that we face within our team.
Time Management:
Strengths:
- Organized schedule: I love creating detailed schedules that carefully outline all the tasks that I need to do. Having this visual representation definitely helps me get started and it honestly just gives me a better idea of what I need to fit into my schedule. Although there are definitely times when I’m not able to complete stuff on time, I try my best to plan ahead to ensure that nothing gets negatively affected. In such a way, you might even say that these to-do lists just help me make sure that I don’t miss or overlook anything I previously set out to do
- Thinking quickly on my feet: Life is so unexpected and things happen all the time, whether we want them or not. I’ve come to learn there’s only so much you can do to stay prepared, which is why I value my ability to adapt and think quickly on my feet. When working on any project, I like to leave all the brainstormed ideas together just in case a backup needs to come in place. In addition to the to-do lists mentioned above, I plan ahead, keeping a few extra days before the deadline just in case anything unexpected delays my progress (or that of the group).
Weaknesses:
- Taking on too much: I’m often conscious about the amount of work and time I’m spending in group settings. This normally comes with the thought of believing that others have expectations for me, when in reality I’m doing more than enough. This causes me to take on more than I can handle simply for the fear of being seen as someone who does not contribute to the overall project. Whether it be for a presentation or an executive club motion, I like to stay involved (which is a great thing), but oftentimes it leads to additional unwanted panic that I wouldn’t of had to deal with in the first place.
- Need for perfection (prioritization): This kind of goes hand in hand with taking too much - as a proud perfectionist, I kind of have a vision for how I’d like everything to be. However, sometimes these visions are very unrealistic. Even for the simplest things, I tend to overcomplicate things from time to time, which isn’t really the best idea. Due to this, I sometimes turn even the simplest tasks into these huge projects, which cause me to stress out over something that might not matter as much. I have a high standard for myself and I know that I have the ability to reach those goals. However sometimes, these “goals” become too unrealistic and end up placing a lot of unnecessary pressure on myself.
One Quality:
I believe that a quality I embody is resilience - life is an adventure and unexpected things happen from time to time, but all that really matters is that you’re able to pick yourself up again and keep fighting for the things you believe in. Things don’t always go as planned in leadership settings and people (including myself) will make mistakes, but it’s really important to understand that that’s ok. No one always succeeds - there is always room for improvement and mistakes from time to time help us realize that. Everyone should realize that even experienced leaders make mistakes, and that’s completely fine. The only important thing is that they don’t try to hide it, but use it as a teachable moment to improve for the future.
As a (co)leader this session I will embody this trait by pushing through even when things get hard and understand that it’s ok if things don’t work out the first time. Whether it be issues with executing the storyline or inactivity problems, I will ensure that I preserve and show resilience by never giving up because there is always another way! I know that everyone makes mistakes, but honestly, they’re some of the best teachable moments. By reflecting on the past and knowing where I can improve, I hope to foster a positive leadership team where we can make a lot of fun, and chaotic memories!
Cabin Atmosphere:
Battle of the Bands: (194 characters)
From musical realms to magic galore, Battle of the Bands is the final stop in this once-in-a-lifetime journey! You’ll learn to work with your teammates, boost confidence, and make it to the top!
Checklist:
✓ I will be available to help add points in the main cabin consistently throughout camp
✓ I’m willing to share a promotional project for SWC
B. No, I can complete all of the (co)leader responsibilities that have been listed in the FAQ.
C. I understand the time dedication that leading requires and the responsibility that comes with being a leader in SWC. Knowing this, in the event I ever have to go inactive for whatever reason, I will contact my (co)leaders and discuss with the hosts as to what appropriate accommodations can be made to ensure that everything continues running as smoothly as possible. Alternatively, if one of my (co)leaders were to go inactive, I would try contacting them via profile comments and other places throughout Scratch. If I still don’t hear a response from them, I will discuss with the other hosts and consult my (co)leaders to decide what next steps should be taken.
Bonus - Train Route
I feel like I'd want to build a train route to Greece! I absolutely love their architecure and the cuisine there is absolutely delicious <3 Aside from that I'd probably also consider some tropical place like Goa. The backwaters are honestly so pretty and I'd love to go on a train ride close to those gorgeous sandy beaches!
- smalltoe
-
Scratcher
100+ posts
swc megathread ⌕ nov 2024
ᨒ↟
Last edited by smalltoe (Jan. 19, 2025 21:51:38)
- -CorruptedData-
-
Scratcher
22 posts
swc megathread ⌕ nov 2024
Daily about Colors, 427 Words
Violet had always been a peculiar child; no one who met her knew what to think of her, and no one who knew her had ever met a seven year old as bright and intriguing as Violet.
The thing was, Violet’s mind just worked differently. Where others saw words, she saw colors. When someone thinks of the word “flower”, they think of poppies and daisies and roses. When Violet thinks of the same word, she sees brilliant bursts of purple and indigo, showering her vision in bright colors.
The odd thing about Violet was that she never struggled in school. She would always spout seemingly random words from her mouth that no one understood; yet she had straight As in every subject. No one could figure her out.
One day, Violet’s parents brought her to an annual checkup right after her seventh birthday. Violet was sitting in the patient’s chair, happily swinging her legs and humming to herself. Her parents were calmly watching her from where they sat across the room.
A young lady with dark brown hair and kind, smiling green eyes entered the room. “Hi, Violet,” she said, bending down to Violet’s level. “I’m Annalise, and I’m going to be your doctor today!”
Dr. Annalise greeted Violet’s parents, asking them how they were and if they had any concerns. Annalise raised Violet’s chair and grabbed her stethoscope from where it hung around her neck, which she then placed directly over Violet’s heart.
“All right, Violet. Take deep breaths for me,” Annalise said as she listened to Violet’s heartbeat. She held the stethoscope there, occasionally moving it to a different location to listen better.
Violet inhaled deeply, and then exhaled. She looked at Dr. Annalise with bright amber eyes. “You have a pretty name,” she told her.
Dr. Annalise stood up and smiled, done listening to Violet’s heart. “Why, thank you! You’re such a nice young girl.” She went to her desk and typed some things on her computer.
After a few moments of silence, Violet decided to speak up. “It’s such a nice shade of green,” she said, voice filled with wonder. “Like fresh green grass.”
Her parents, still sitting in their chairs, hurriedly explained. “She says things like that sometimes,” her mom told Annalise. “It might seem confusing, but that’s just how she thinks.”
Annalise, however, did not look the slightest bit confused. In fact, there was a hint of a smile on her lips.
“Well,” she began, looking Violet’s parents in the eye, “lucky you! It appears your dear child Violet has synesthesia!”
Violet had always been a peculiar child; no one who met her knew what to think of her, and no one who knew her had ever met a seven year old as bright and intriguing as Violet.
The thing was, Violet’s mind just worked differently. Where others saw words, she saw colors. When someone thinks of the word “flower”, they think of poppies and daisies and roses. When Violet thinks of the same word, she sees brilliant bursts of purple and indigo, showering her vision in bright colors.
The odd thing about Violet was that she never struggled in school. She would always spout seemingly random words from her mouth that no one understood; yet she had straight As in every subject. No one could figure her out.
One day, Violet’s parents brought her to an annual checkup right after her seventh birthday. Violet was sitting in the patient’s chair, happily swinging her legs and humming to herself. Her parents were calmly watching her from where they sat across the room.
A young lady with dark brown hair and kind, smiling green eyes entered the room. “Hi, Violet,” she said, bending down to Violet’s level. “I’m Annalise, and I’m going to be your doctor today!”
Dr. Annalise greeted Violet’s parents, asking them how they were and if they had any concerns. Annalise raised Violet’s chair and grabbed her stethoscope from where it hung around her neck, which she then placed directly over Violet’s heart.
“All right, Violet. Take deep breaths for me,” Annalise said as she listened to Violet’s heartbeat. She held the stethoscope there, occasionally moving it to a different location to listen better.
Violet inhaled deeply, and then exhaled. She looked at Dr. Annalise with bright amber eyes. “You have a pretty name,” she told her.
Dr. Annalise stood up and smiled, done listening to Violet’s heart. “Why, thank you! You’re such a nice young girl.” She went to her desk and typed some things on her computer.
After a few moments of silence, Violet decided to speak up. “It’s such a nice shade of green,” she said, voice filled with wonder. “Like fresh green grass.”
Her parents, still sitting in their chairs, hurriedly explained. “She says things like that sometimes,” her mom told Annalise. “It might seem confusing, but that’s just how she thinks.”
Annalise, however, did not look the slightest bit confused. In fact, there was a hint of a smile on her lips.
“Well,” she began, looking Violet’s parents in the eye, “lucky you! It appears your dear child Violet has synesthesia!”
- -NightGlow-
-
Scratcher
1000+ posts
swc megathread ⌕ nov 2024
Daily 14: Holi
word count - 314 words
The numbers on my arm continue to flash. That sinking realization starts to settle in… I know that I'm running out of time. We tried really hard to reverse it, but unfortunately that's just how life works. I wanted to meet my daughter one last time. One last time before I left the face of this planet. We hadn't seen each other for quite some time, but I can tell you that greatly missed her silk-like ebony hair. Honestly, having her apart of my life was one of the best things that had ever happened to be. After her dad died, however, things were never the same.
We were both always on the run. Trying to defy our fate and somehow make more time. I now see that our endless pursuit was for nothing - it's no different than wanting more money. Whatever you can't have, you want more of. And that, that is exactly what leads to the breaking point. Under the dark sky, the stars are shining brightly down. I see the lamp posts are all dimly lit and I can't help but begin to wonder what it all would've been like if things were just a bit different.
Tears begin to drip down my face, sliding down my cheeks and falling down like the rain. In the distance, I heard my name. My life that felt so black and white was now, different. There was something almost surreal about the numbers on my hand fading away. Just as I was running out of time, she rushed towards me, yelling my name into the night. I plummeted to the ground, yet she was somehow there to catch me. As I shut my eyes and took my last breath, I felt at peace - it was in her warm embrace that I was able to leave my final mark. And for that, I was grateful.
word count - 314 words
The numbers on my arm continue to flash. That sinking realization starts to settle in… I know that I'm running out of time. We tried really hard to reverse it, but unfortunately that's just how life works. I wanted to meet my daughter one last time. One last time before I left the face of this planet. We hadn't seen each other for quite some time, but I can tell you that greatly missed her silk-like ebony hair. Honestly, having her apart of my life was one of the best things that had ever happened to be. After her dad died, however, things were never the same.
We were both always on the run. Trying to defy our fate and somehow make more time. I now see that our endless pursuit was for nothing - it's no different than wanting more money. Whatever you can't have, you want more of. And that, that is exactly what leads to the breaking point. Under the dark sky, the stars are shining brightly down. I see the lamp posts are all dimly lit and I can't help but begin to wonder what it all would've been like if things were just a bit different.
Tears begin to drip down my face, sliding down my cheeks and falling down like the rain. In the distance, I heard my name. My life that felt so black and white was now, different. There was something almost surreal about the numbers on my hand fading away. Just as I was running out of time, she rushed towards me, yelling my name into the night. I plummeted to the ground, yet she was somehow there to catch me. As I shut my eyes and took my last breath, I felt at peace - it was in her warm embrace that I was able to leave my final mark. And for that, I was grateful.
Last edited by -NightGlow- (March 14, 2025 20:18:16)
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