It’s the second night of camp and Girls Side and Boys Side alike were already eager to meet their new camp sisters and brothers. As much as the campers are obsessed with the old friends they’ve waited ten months to hug, they also could not wait to make new ones. Just over 24 hours after arrival the kids stayed up late catching up, passed their swim tests together, and were onto the next new adventure asking left and right about the camp sister and brother reveal. To say that the campers were looking forward to tonight is an understatement. After a jam-packed first day including a pizza lunch, athletic evaluations, the first fruit call, polar bear plunge, and divisional meetings to kick off this season, the campers couldn’t wait to read the message and find out their camp sisters and brothers. Through the commotion of hugging, yelling, and running into each other’s arms, everyone found their siblings.
The Boys Side and Girls Side made it down to their respective campsites hand in hand with their sisters and brothers. Ben S. and Marlie K. with over nine summers at Starlight lit the fires with David and Allison leading in the ceremony. Every camper listened intently as the Upper Senior Boys and Girls shared about what being the oldest campers at Camp Starlight meant to them.
Bringing back amazing campfire traditions for the summer of 2018, the girls sang about a moose named Fred, the flowers and daffodils, and more, in various repeat-after-me campfire sing along favorites. Likewise, the boys cheered and showed off their divisional spirit showcasing one of the loudest HOORAH’s the inter division had ever seen.
Before the end of the night, every camper found a star in the beautiful Starlight sky, closed their eyes, and made a wish. Just as they came, all of the campers left hand in hand after a night of bonding, celebrating, and experiencing Camp Starlight tradition. It was the perfect end to a magical first day at Camp Starlight!
Arrival day is finally here and every part of the camp is bubbling over with excitement. You can feel it in the air, you can see it in the smiles, you can hear it in the high-pitched voices that people get when they can’t contain this feeling and you can touch it in the warm embraces between friends old and new.
As the children tumble out of the buses there’s no stopping them. They run in all directions in search of their best friends, arms wide open for the bear hug that they’ve been waiting 10 months to give their fellow campers again. As the music blares, the boys and girls rush to their eagerly awaiting counselors and friends in their bunk for the summer. Cheers and laughter can be heard all around the campus as campers and counselors meet for the very first time and also reunite after months of missing each other. This blanket of happiness is so electrifying and comforting and this is only the beginning of the adventures as the Starlight family of 2018.
This summer, I’m heading off for a two month adventure of a lifetime. I’m packing my bags and heading off to…
I went to camp once when I was 8. Camp Summit in North Carolina. It was the best two weeks of my life. I always wanted to go back. Camp Summit no longer exists and life happens as it may. I never did return as a camper or counselor. Until now…I’m the 41 year old camper. This is my kids’ first sleep away camp experience and feelings range from “a little nervous” to “wishes she was already there”. What’s not lost on me, is the privilege to see and hear my own kids’ camp experience in real time and photograph it. It’s an incredible opportunity. But it’s not just my own children’s experiences, it’s the lives of 560 boys and girls. As a photographer at a summer camp, being a mom is the biggest role I’ll play. I’ll photograph each child as my own. As an artist, and a mom, I want the parents at home, who are hitting “refresh” on their computers to feel and see and hear the same things through my photographs. It’s a huge responsibility and I’m 100% up for the challenge.
I’ve spent the last week packing my three kids for the best summer of their lives. (BTW, packing three kids for 7 weeks away from home ain’t no joke!) Thank goodness for Excel spreadsheets and advice from experienced friends.
For many counselors at Camp Starlight a significant amount of distance is required to travel to get to camp. Driving literally across the country or flying seventeen hours straight from across the world, counselors are dedicated to make it to Camp Starlight. What makes those insanely long trips and flights worth it? The reason these counselors spend a long amount of time travelling is because they know that spending the summer at Camp Starlight is a once in a lifetime experience and a summer you can never replicate anywhere else. When counselors interact with the kids for the first time and see that they can change their lives for the better, all the jet lag and hours spent standing in line at the airport melts away. Nothing can compare to the rewarding feeling of helping a camper learn a new life lesson or help them overcome an obstacle, so when a counselor travels from around the world to Camp Starlight, those are the feelings they want to experience and celebrate. The counselors realize that even though they spend a lot of time travelling to get to camp, campers wait around all year long to return to Camp Starlight. When someone asks a counselor from Australia if the seventeen hour flight was worth it they usually respond with another question: was the ten month long wait to return to camp worth it? The answer to both questions lies in the amount of campers and counselors that do make that return trip–almost all of them.
I am the best at tying shoes, a master of voices for bedtime stories and I can most certainly hand out tissues for a runny nose. I am a familiar face for the same bunk all summer because I am a bunk specialist and I have the best job at Camp Starlight. As a bunk specialist for the Lower Juniors at Camp Starlight, I spend most of my time with the campers from my bunk and see them make Camp Starlight their new home for the first time as new campers. Everyday I get to watch my campers laugh, smile, try new things and enjoy their first summer at Starlight, watching them grow roots here that will have them come back for more summers to come. I love my job because I get to see their growth, the campers that nervously came to camp on the first day have grown so much since then and they have found new things that make them excited to wake up to Reveille. The most rewarding aspect of my job is when I see my campers smile because of something they were able to do because that makes me smile. My division has very young campers that are experiencing summer camp for the first time, so when they become comfortable enough at camp to master a skill or find a new passion, it is so inspiring. Everyday has its challenges in supervising these campers to be the best they can be, but the end of every day is so rewarding and worth all the hard work when they go to bed with smiles on their faces. Knowing I am part of making a camper’s first summer at Camp Starlight so special is why I know I have the best job at Camp Starlight.
When you walk through camp on any given day, you can spot a seemingly endless amount of blue stars and Camp Starlight insignia adorned on campers, counselors and staff. Throughout camp, the Camp Starlight name and logo is a prominent presence on campus because so many people are proud to wear it. When you wear Camp Starlight gear, you represent so many aspects that define what it means to be a part of the Camp Starlight family. The blue star is stamped on all staff shirts like a postcard to show that Camp Starlight is the best place to be in the whole world. This is a place people travel to, looking for that stamped blue star, so they can see all the history and tradition that lies within the five points of the star. Wearing Camp Starlight gear means to be proud of all tradition that has built such a supportive and encouraging community of campers and staff. It means to be proud of a community where there are always new and exciting opportunities taking place, a place where new passions are being discovered, new goals are being achieved and a new home is being founded. When you wear the blue and white, you wear all the smiles shared because of this place and you wear all the love the Camp Starlight family gives. The spirit of Camp Starlight is in every stitch of fabric and the sense of adventure found here is printed on every logo. To wear Camp Starlight gear means to be proud of everything that every camper, counselor and staff member has accomplished every summer. It takes a lot of hard work to build up and add to that pride, but it is so easy to slide on that Camp Starlight shirt and smile because you know you are a part of a place that has changed lives for the better, including your own.
Parents of Camp Starlight campers have to work very hard all year long so their kids can enjoy a summer of fun and make memories with their friends. Even though campers are not able to see their parents when they are at summer camp, they appreciate every single thing their parents still do for them when there are some miles distancing them apart. Parents don’t see this, but campers literally light up when they see they have received mail from their parents in the morning. They clench onto the letters as they scan over every line, overjoyed to hear from their parents and the biggest smile stretches over their face. Every word from their parents means so much to them, even if they are stubborn to admit it. The days leading up to visiting day are the most anticipated for the campers too, telling their counselors all about their parents and cleaning up every corner of their bunk to impress them. They prepare in every way possible to welcome their parents into camp and wake up early the day of visiting day, eager to hug them. The moments leading up to the time campers get to see their parents show how much campers truly appreciate and love them. All they can do is stand on their tippy toes to catch a glimpse of their parents when the tape isn’t cut, and when the tape is cut, they sprint faster than they ever have before to see their parents. Campers appreciate and love everything their parents do for them, even more in the summer because that is when they realize how special their parents are to them.
One thing parents love so much about camp is that it takes campers out of their comfort zones in many ways. Not only are campers eating and sleeping in a new place, but they’re also trying games and activities that are new to them, and working with people they’ve never met. This shake-up of their routine does wonders for their social, physical, and emotional health. Camp also has a unique way of shifting the mindset of campers. A summer at camp is a summer away from social media and texting and a time focused on nature, real relationships, character building, and good ‘ol fashioned fun.
During the school year, dedicated athletes devote hours a day to their skill. Most spend time before and after school working on their strength, speed, agility, focus, and concentration. From the first day of practice to their final game, athletes see a significant improvement thanks to the time commitment they’ve put towards their sport.