What is it that makes YMA unique?

by Zeta Gesme, Senior Counselor

What is it that draws people back again year after year? I have gone through eleven summers at YMA, and I find this question difficult to answer in concrete terms. Sure, we paste photos of sun-kissed, smiling faces all over our brochures and web page - but ink and pixels are not what make YMA unique.

In the “real” world, musicians and artists face intense competition. They are constantly pitted against one another, whether it be in auditions for symphonies or Broadway shows, for getting works published or printed, for getting views online or in a gallery. The pressure is enormous in an age that favors efficiency and technology, and has very little time to treasure a quiet moment or a shared smile. The “real” world has broken so many musicians and artists. It has made them believe that they are failures, that they have not worked hard enough, that they have no talent, and that they will never be good enough. 

But YMA tells a different story.

At one of our spotlight performances this summer, a songwriter was performing his newly written work for the camp. He had no doubt toiled over the chords and lyrics for hours over the two weeks of camp, working and reworking to get it ready for that moment. In the middle of the song, his memory slipped. He stopped for a second, restarted, then stopped again. A few tries later, there was a moment of silence that felt like eternity. 

I’ve been a classically trained musician since the age of three, and I know this moment all too well. In the real world of fine arts, not just music, this is a moment of fear. It is a moment of shame, self-consciousness, regret even trauma. It is a moment when the artist on stage faces not only the critical gaze of a now disappointed audience, but their own self-criticism: I didn’t work hard enough or if only I had practiced it again playing over and over again in their heads.

But this is not what happened that night. In that split second as my chest tightened and I looked with sympathy at the performer’s wide eyes, a voice called out:

“You got this!”

The auditorium erupted into applause, all of the student’s friends and family showing that this is not the “real” world. That the “real” world’s standards are absurd, that perfection is completely overrated, and that success is not a clean run through on the stage. Success is not international acclaim or the Pulitzer Prize. Success is making bold mistakes and not looking back. Success is having the courage to finish what you have started. No matter what, you must fight through.

The performer smiled, and took a deep breath. Still shaking, he finished the song with more gusto, more heart, and more passion than I had ever seen him give before. A standing ovation beat him to the final chord as tears sprung from my eyes. 

In a world where that moment could have been a nightmare, this songwriter will get to celebrate one of his biggest successes, and will go on to write songs and create music and be an inspiration to others. 

You won’t find this anywhere else - a place where encouragement overrides competition, and where criticism is crowded out by love. 

That is what makes YMA unique.