Tears of joy: a life-changing songwriting camp

In the almost deserted dining area of Bahura Resort, 20 minutes from Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental, Kyrsty Alde stares alone at a whiteboard filled with index cards. The cards were sign-up forms for the one-on-one consultation sessions with the mentors of the 2012 Elements Singing/Songwriting Camp.

It is dinnertime. With the sessions officially over, everybody is celebrating on the beachfront maybe a hundred feet away.

Kyrsty was on her way to get coffee candy but stopped at the whiteboard that summarized the past four days.
RadioRepublic's Twinky Lagdameo and I approach her.

Spot the rock stars. Grad pic, Elements Songwriting Camp 2012 (Contributed photo by Francis Brew)

"Are you okay?" I ask.
She snaps out of her reverie and breaks into a bright smile. "Tapos na po e… Mami-miss ko po ito."
She tells us how much she learned, how grateful she is to her campmates and mentors, the questions she still has, and how much fun she had. Her smile never breaks but her eyes slowly well up.
Her life will never be the same, she says.
She hugs Twinky and me and makes her way back to the