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Home > Archive > Feb 14, 2008

Living by the Book
By Cami Cox
Staff Writer
Camille Green strives to make the day a little brighter for those around her.
“She's really positive, a positive influence on other kids,” said Jennifer Dail, a dance teacher at Tuacahn High School.
A 4.0 student at Tuacahn, 17-year-old Camille is a member of the drama council and also involved in dance and theater at Tuacahn. When she's not working hard in the classroom to keep straight A’s or practicing onstage to perfect her dancing and acting, Camille is busily striving to be a good friend to those she comes in contact with.
“She's the kind of friend who can always make you smile,” said Erika Larsen, Camille's best friend and also a student at Tuacahn. “If you're having a bad day, she always is there to brighten you up, and she always has a positive attitude about everything.”
Being upbeat and serving others are very important to Camille, who plans to go into a professional field that will allow her to help others on a continual basis.
“I really do love helping people, and I love doing service projects,” she said.
Always keeping an eye out for ways to help others, Camille strives to give service wherever she sees a need. During the summer, for instance, she spent a great deal of time helping a neighbor who had suffered a stroke, visiting her and seeing to her needs for a few hours during the day. She's also very attentive to making sure that things are good in the lives of her friends.
“She's always there,” Erika said. “(If I was having a bad day), she'd probably tell a me joke, or come to my house and probably make me food or something.”
While a constant source of positivity for those around her, Camille still has her own down days. To help her stay positive when the going gets tough, she keeps a leather-bound book filled with inspirational quotes and stories, to pick her up when she's feeling low or spur her on when she's getting discouraged.
“Sometimes the world gets hard, and whenever it's really stressful, it's nice to have little things that just give you hope,” she said.
Whenever Camille comes across a quote or story that touches her, she adds it to her book, which, so far, has about 30 pages covered with her handwritten entries. Everything written in the book is inspirational or uplifting to her in some way, she said, and there are still many more pages to go before her book will be complete.
“My goal before I die is that book will be filled!” she said with a laugh. “Hopefully, I don't die too soon!”
In addition to giving her a boost of inspiration in moments of need, the words in Camille's book also help her friends through their struggles.
“To brighten up my day, she'll tell me quotes from her quote book,” Erika said.
Camille said having words of wisdom at her fingertips can also help her articulate feelings when the right words don't seem to come.
“Sometimes I get jumbled in my words and I don't know how to express what I feel,” she said, “and then it's nice to have these quotes, and it's like, 'This is exactly how I feel.'”
Camille's future plans aren't concrete just yet as to what she wants to pursue vocationally. Right now, she's considering careers in physical therapy and dermatology – both fields that will involve helping others, she said. In the meantime, as long as she is giving service or benefiting those around her in some way, Camille is satisfied.
“I truly do believe that people come into our lives for a reason and that everyone can make a difference, whether it's just something simple – you know, making you smile or whatever,” she said. “We need people in our lives, and it's the friends and the people that we have that help us get through the day.”
Camille's parents are Dannie and Suzanne Green, of St. George.

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