Up-Close and Personal: What a Summer

Hello to all of my fellow camp counselors!

It has been nearly three months since I last wrote. But as I stated last summer, I get so swept up in the summer and camp and never write. Based on my views, I get the feeling that the very few of you who read my blog have a similar scenario, as the views go way down during the summer.

I had the most incredible summer! As I mentioned, I left my home, the camp I had been at for over a decade. I started a new adventure at a day camp, which was really scary and challenging for me. I was nervous, sad and torn at the beginning of the summer. Now, nine weeks of camp later, I couldn't feel more opposite. I found a new home and a new camp family, and learned more than I could have ever imagined.

I wrote a ton in my journal, and look forward to sharing my experience with you over the next few months. But I thought that I would give a very brief summary of my summer at a new camp, and the incredible experience that I had.

The summer started on the first day of training. I was still sad from my weekend at my old camp, and was slightly regretting my choice to lead. When I walked up to camp, the other staff were singing songs and doing "blitz" at the logs, where all of camp would start and end each day. The day of training was different then what I had experienced in the past. We played a lot of games, talked in small camps, and discussed logistics of our days. However, something was different. There was a different atmosphere. It was a lot of fun throughout the day, and I became instantly friends with several staff members.

I got to know the three other senior counselors in the small camp with me. We had the oldest campers, and had a very different program from the rest of camp. Our small camp was composed of four senior counselors, a rock climbing specialist, and a director. Throughout the summer, we became especially close. The number of inside jokes, stories and memories we share are countless, and I haven't ever felt so close to fellow staff members.

Camp days varied, and consisted of anything from rock climbing (on real rocks, not at a gym, which blew my mind), beach days, sailing, stand-up paddle boarding and kayaking, high ropes courses and a hundred games of mafia. My campers were around 13 years old, and through the summer I had three groups. We bonded over challenge course, took a million pictures at photo scavenger hunts, and had a few water fights. Each group was at camp for three weeks, which gave us a chance to really bond and come together.

One of my favorite memories was from the second session of camp. It was the last day, and we were coming back from the beach. On the route, somehow we got into a competition of who could make the best fart noises. Everyone was laughing and being so silly, and it was truly one of those quintessential camp moments.

It was an amazing summer, full of so many lessons, memories and laughs, and I look forward to sharing pieces of what I learned with you over the coming off-season.

You are amazing!
Samantha