When I think of the most important thing Waukeela gives to campers 3 things come to mind: the space to explore things outside of their comfort zone, a community to cheer them on while they do it and as a result of those two the confidence to show others who they really are. It has taken me 17 summers at Waukeela to be able to put it across so simply and it’s still a hard thing to show people who have never experienced it. So let me show you through these stories:
Back in 2010, I was a very energetic 13-year-old. My 3rd summer at camp was living up to the past 2 and I had made deep friendships. One of my groups of friends was made up of Spanish girls of all ages. We were a break from all the English around us and coming from so far away we understood the culture shock we were all experiencing. One day two of the older girls decided we should all go on an optional camping trip that was being offered. We packed our bags and arrived at the trailhead. The walk to the campsite was beautiful and we were all very excited. We cooked dinner and afterward, our trip leader told us we had to pack our food in a bag and hang it from a tree so bears wouldn’t come near us. For my culture-shocked friends and me, this completely changed our excited and wonder-filled vibe. Our top secret language of Spanish hid our concern and we decided that when the counselors fell asleep we would steal the keys to the van and run back to it and sleep in there. Even our mostly city-raised brains knew that bears could not get into cars, but they absolutely could get into lean-to shelters full of sleeping girls - even if we had hung our food in a tree!
It went dark and the oldest girl - the one whose idea it had been to go on the trip - assumed her role of older sister we had thrust upon her and slept with her arms wide open - all of us snuggling into her. She promised she would wake us up when the counselors fell asleep and we felt reassured. The next thing I knew it was morning and I could smell smoke and something sweet being cooked over the fire. The fear was gone, we had made it through the night in what we had decided was a bear’s full forest and we could not be prouder. We bounced down the mountain and when we got back to the car and realized we had a couple of flat tires and had to wait to be picked up by another van we thought it was hilarious. Nothing could stop us. A couple of hours later, we sat at a Burger King the first time for all of us at one and we were thrilled about our completely American experience!
The second story is from a couple of summers ago. We had a camper who struggled to adapt to camp in the first couple of weeks, let's call her Nicole. Nicole was an older camper and camp life was very different to what she was used to. When her first phone call to her parents came, she was ready to go home and asked her mom to buy her a plane ticket. Her mom knew that this would pass and said no. A couple of weeks later, Nicole was the happiest on camp. She made so many friends and we were all shocked to see how invested she was in the traditions and activities!
The following summer, Nicole came back beaming with excitement about being back in what she now called her second home. The first couple of weeks went by and she was an absolutely fearless leader, the little kids looked up to her and she embodied camp like no one else.
At the end of week 2, we had our yearly green vs. white competition called The Great Race. A multi-challenge competition where kids choose what they are best at and compete all day long. One of the challenges is something called "stumps" and it is a very simple, yet extremely difficult competition: you have to stand on a stump for as long as possible. We were all shocked to see that Nicole had signed up.
The day started and many kids had signed up for stumps, but quickly the herd started to thin. Either by mistake or just being tiered, kids got off their stumps. She stayed through it. When it got cold and started to rain, Nicole opened her umbrella, put on her hoodie and stayed through it. When the sun came out and was hitting them all in the face, she stayed through it. When her best friend who she was doing it with said that once hour 8 passed she would quit, she dug deep, looked at me and said I'm staying through it. After dinner, we made the whole camp come out and cheer for them. At a record breaking 9 hours, this camper and 2 others made Waukeela history. The smile on her face as everyone chanted her name was something I couldn't have thought possible those first couple of weeks.
These stories are just a glimpse of what camp does for people. It pushes them to face their fears, supports them as they grow, and helps them discover the incredible things they’re capable of. For 17 summers, I’ve seen it happen over and over again. And every time, it’s just as magical as the first.
This is why I believe in camp, because I can see how through a tried and tested method of challenging kids deeply and at the same time supporting them and showing them how bright they shine they grow to be caring, empowered and world-changing adults.
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