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Limitless Love

Monday, November 27th, 2017

Whether you are a camper, staff member, parent, or alumni, Camp Starlight has an intense impact that can’t be ignored. There is a monumental significance that summer camp provides to a person’s life. An environment is fostered that allows you to become the person you’ve always dreamed of being. Friendships are established, memories are made, and life lessons are learned and carried out for many years to follow. The bottom line is, sleepaway camp provides an overall plethora of love and support for its entire community.

The camp environment facilitates a feeling of love and acceptance that is motivational and highly influential. Once an individual realizes that they are accepted for who they are, his or her potential for growth becomes unlimited. As someone who went to sleepaway camp, I have fortunately experienced this limitless love firsthand. For twelve summers, I have accumulated memories and experiences that are invaluable to me as an individual. The positivity and love that exists around camp is infectious and easily transferrable in all environments.

My summer camp career at Starlight began in June 2006. I was a ten year old girl that was extremely shy and often kept to myself. I played a few sports but I never fully embraced my athletic potential and teamwork capabilities. Despite my many fears, I bravely introduced myself to my fellow bunkmates. Within minutes, I felt accepted and loved in my new bunk of eleven girls knowing that we were going to face this new experience of camping together. Throughout the summer, I learned how to work as a team and handle conflict. My confidence and individuality blossomed as I tried new activities and experienced new adventures with my new bunk family cheering me on. My bunkmates and I overcame obstacles together, recognized each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and supported one another each and every day. While some members of my bunk shined on the soccer field and tennis courts, others lived for the chance to perform in the camp play or be featured in a dance number. Despite our preference of activities and different strengths, living together each and every day enabled our limitless love for one another as we cheered each other on and were there for a helping hand. Before I knew it, my first summer came to an end and I began counting down the days until I could return back to my summer home. Throughout the long ten months spent away from camp, I kept in constant contact with my fellow bunkmates and had several reunions. At each reunion, my bunkmates and I picked up right where we left off and continued to make lifelong memories.

Fast forward six years to 2012 when I became a staff member at Camp Starlight. Although I had been a camper for six years, the butterflies I had in my stomach putting on that staff shirt for the first time brought me back to the same nervous feeling I had when I started my camp career. However, the moment I stepped into my new bunk and met my campers, I was hit a feeling of gratification and excitement. I recognized that I had the power to be a role model for these campers as my past counselors once were to me. I took pride in helping my campers learn their lines for camp plays, rooting them on in each sport they tried, and being there for any assistance that they needed.

The year is now 2017 and I have had the privilege of being a counselor to six unique bunks of girls. Each group provided me with irreplaceable memories. My first campers back in 2012 are now in high school thinking about which colleges they should apply to and learning how to drive a car. I have had the unique opportunity to watch my campers grow as individuals and accomplish several milestones. I look forward to the day each June when my campers from past summers run off the buses, hug me hello, and tell me what their year had in store for them.

Along with the many memories made with campers throughout the past summers at Starlight, I have made new friendships with counselors from around the world. I am in constant contact with counselors from the UK, Australia, and other parts of the United States. These friendships motivated me to travel to Europe this past year where I knew I would have a warm welcome and a place to stay. It’s an indescribable feeling to know that no matter where you go in the world, there will always be someone with an open door waiting to embrace you.

Twelve years have passed since I first began sleepaway camp as an anxious ten-year old girl. Looking back, I have recognized how much my life has been changed from attending summer camp. Thanks to the nurturing and loving environment fostered at Camp Starlight, I have become a more independent and caring adult.

All photos courtesy of Madison Dratch.

Tags: America's finest summer camps, benefits of being a camp counselor, camp community, camp environment, Camp Starlight, growth at camp, improving children's social skills, summer camp experience, what I love about summer camp, why go to summer camp
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After Camp: Keeping the Momentum Going

Saturday, September 17th, 2011

Sure the kids are home from camp and are settling back into their school routines. Maybe they’re still a little bit camp sick, but it’s possible to keep the camp momentum going throughout the year. Here are a few suggestions we thought we’d pass along.

Talk about camp with them. Not only do children love talking about their camp experiences, but doing so helps them process the events of the summer. In sharing their experiences, they’re able to gain perspective about camp. If they haven’t already told you by now (and they probably have a hundred times over), ask them to tell you about their camp friends, their favorite activities and favorite events.
Encourage them to keep in touch with their camp friends throughout the year. Of course, summer camp draws campers from all over the globe, so play dates and get-togethers might not be realistic for everyone. But in the age of email, Skype, and Facebook (for some older campers), maintaining contact is easier than ever.
Encourage children to read camp literature, such as newsletters, and to keep up with the blog on your camp’s website. Parents should regularly read camp literature and blogs as well. Not only will they be informed, but they can pass along useful or exciting information, such as news about new camp activities or facilities, to their children.
If your children just can’t stop singing those camp songs, encourage them to teach you one or two. Then you can sing along with them…It’s fun. Trust us.
Encourage your children to share anything exciting that happens to them throughout the year with the camp. Summer camps love to know what their campers are up to over the winter and are thrilled to share in something special whether it be winning a spot on a traveling sports team, landing a role in the school play, or earning a place on the honor roll. Many are also happy to pass this information onto other campers and their parents via a special section in their camp newsletter.
Make a big deal over any projects they brought home. Whether it’s a scented candle, a leather purse, a clay vase, or a wooden birdhouse, chances are they put plenty of time and energy into creating something special to bring home to you. So display it somewhere prominent, even if it does have to be “archived” each year to make room for the next summer’s treasures.
Show them that you got their camp letters. Point out your favorite parts. Tell them which were your favorites, maybe even keep the letters in an album from year to year. Children are much more excited about writing home from camp when they really feel that their letters are being read. Someday, a scrapbook of camp letters might even make a neat gift to give back to them.