Ceremony helps youth begin the year trouble free
More than 40 youngsters participated in a special ceremony at the Sanibel Sea School over the last two weeks to help them rid of what bothered them in 2016.
Sanibel Sea School Director of Education Nicole Finnicum said the “Give Your Troubles to the Sea” tradition began when they started offering winter camps for the youth.
“Doc Bruce always says that kids don’t really have their own ceremonies. As adults we have all of these things and rituals that we do, but kids really don’t have ownership for any of that,” she said. “We also tend to think that kids really don’t have problems because they are 9, 10, 11 years old. We don’t think they have problems because they don’t have to deal with money issues, or maybe family issues, or anything that bothers adults. But, it’s true that kids do have problems. Their world is just a little bit smaller. No matter what is troubling them for 2016, this is an opportunity for them to give those troubles away.”
In an effort to create a special ceremony for the youth, the Sanibel Sea School offered “Give Your Troubles to the Sea” every New Years during their winter camp. This year, the ceremony was offered on Friday, Dec. 30, as well as Monday, Jan. 2.
“It’s a way to start off the year with a fresh start and give all of our troubles away,” Finnicum said. “We like to give them to the sea and wash our slates clean for the New Year. The troubles may not go away after this ceremony, but at least they kind of go away for a short time period that afternoon.”
The Sanibel Sea School takes the ceremony very seriously and encourages the campers to really think about their troubles and write them down. Each camper has the opportunity to find a spot alone, or stay amongst their peers while privately writing down their thoughts on a small sheet of paper.
“It felt really good because this was the worst year of my life,” Reilly Hale said of writing her worries down. “I love doing it with the Sanibel Sea School.”
Once the paper was full of their worries, the sheet was folded up and brought outside where the campers gathered in a circle around a fire.
“We start a fire in a small bin and then each of the campers have the opportunity to throw their troubles in a bin and watch it burn. We all do it collectively together because we are all kind of washing our troubles away as a group, as a camp,” Finnicum said.
As the campers threw their troubles into the fire, many said farewell to their worries.
Once the papers turned into ash, the campers gathered their shoes and water and began the trek to the beach where the conclusion of the ceremony took place.
“Each of us take a small pinch of the ashes, of the troubles, and we wash it away in the sea. Let the ocean take it away. Then we play, and go crazy, and have a ton of fun in the ocean,” she said. “Those troubles can go away temporarily, or it is a fresh start for the campers to wash them away and start again.”
Hale said after she threw the ashes in the ocean, she felt a lot better, as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders.
Elinor Rienzo also felt better after she let the ocean carry away her worries.
“It was kind of important because not all adults think our worries are important,” she said.
Finnicum said she thinks the ceremony offers the campers with the reassurance that what they think matters.
“It makes them feel the importance of it. They feel that their problems mean something,” Finnicum said. “We are trying to empower them to have a voice to save the ocean. This is a good example of them having a voice and creating their own rituals and ceremonies for themselves.”
In addition to it being powerful for the campers, Finnicum said many of their parents also thank them for holding the ceremony.
“It’s a really special thing for a lot of the campers. I think they get a lot out of it,” she said.
A goal of the staff at the Sanibel Sea School is providing the youngsters with a place where they do not have to think about their problems on any given day. A place where they can feel safe and comfortable.