It’s easy for children to think of their entire lives in the context of their “nucleus,”’ their home, their community, their school, their family, their friends. They typically have no need to seek beyond their immediate surroundings, and their perspective of the world is seen through a restrictive lens based on where they live and the things they’ve experienced. Attending a sleepaway camp gives children and teens a way to broaden their worldview, to see themselves as a small (yet important) part of the bigger picture. Camp Starlight gets campers out of their comfort zones and allow them to catch a glimpse of how much world they have to explore.
Exposure To A New Place
For campers who have lived their entire lives in the hustle and bustle of a big city are in for a shock when they step foot onto the campgrounds. For some campers, the first time they explore the wilderness or really see a constellation is at camp. Even campers from rural areas are in for a treat as they spend the summer in a place busy with people, excitement and adventure. The experience of the journey from home to camp can help campers see that there is much more to explore outside of their familiar life.
Exposure To New People
Camp Starlight brings people together from all across the globe, and is responsible for thousands of lifelong friendships. Boys and girls spend night and day with others who come from different backgrounds, cultures, religions, and experiences. Working, playing and growing together at camp allows campers to break through stereotypes and appreciate diversity in a brand new way. Some campers come from places where everyone thinks, looks and acts just like them. It’s refreshing for them to see that the world is full of incredible people with so much to teach them.
Exposure To Independence
Sleepaway camps give campers the opportunity to venture out in a new place without their parents walking them through it. This experience helps campers gain a sense of independence and realize that they are strong enough, smart enough and more than capable enough to make positive decisions on their own. Giving campers this sense of freedom and independence allows them to do some self-discovery to understand further who they are and what they can contribute to the world around them. They learn things about themselves that they didn’t know, and they begin to ask the questions that will help them determine who they are becoming outside of their family and friends.
Exposure To New Activities
Camp Starlight packs every day of the summer with fun and adventure. Some campers arrive never having been on a boat before, or never having access to a dance class or have never been rock climbing, but camp changes all of that. Camp is the place where so many “firsts” happen, all of which open up new windows in the brain and increase their understanding of the countless adventures and travels awaiting them. Some campers fall in love with sports they never even knew existed, which can be the first step in a lifelong passion. Campers who have the sleepaway camp experience go home with a desire to learn more about the world around them. This exposure to new things and people shifts their perspective and helps them realize that there is so much to the world than what they know.
It’s important for children and teens to understand that the world doesn’t actually revolve around them. They are part of something bigger, and the sooner we can ignite the excitement in discovering just what that “something” is, the better. The sooner campers can grasp the idea of a big wide world just waiting for their gifts and talents, the sooner we can develop leaders who are excited to serve, lead, love and explore the world beyond their comfort zone.
An iconic element of summer camp is the experience of sleeping in a bunk every night of the summer. Cozy wooden cabins house the campers for the entire summer and these bunks often times host the best memories a camper makes. What makes sleeping in a bunk one of the most fun aspects at Camp Starlight is that every night is a giant sleepover with your best friends. After all the evening activities are over, campers still have enough energy to get excited to return to their bunks. They know they get to slip into pajamas, climb into their beds and still have fun with their friends, whether they are just talking about the day or laughing and joking around with each other. It’s like every night is a pajama party and the fun doesn’t stop until you have to leave camp. In the bunk, no moment is ever dull. The campers get to share their thoughts from the day with each other and take the time to decompress as an entire bunk. The bunk helps these campers transform into a family, spending quality time with each other at the very start and the end of each day. As a family, they learn how to take care of each other, clean the bunk and work as a single unit to enjoy every single night of summer. Sleeping in a bunk every night is how the friendships these campers form throughout the summer are so strong because living together all summer encourages them to care for one another, support one another and love one another as a family.
Starnight was a night to remember. Future Starlighters were accompanied by current Starlighters and Starlight staff for the full Starlight experience. In an atmosphere of “Rahoos” and “H-O-T-T-O-G-O” the Starnighters blended right in and joined in the fun. Junior campers adopted their Starnighters with open bunk doors and open arms as future campers got to see what it’s really like to be a true Starlight camper. The Starlight experience is truly like no other and it showed for future campers and Starlighters alike. In an evening activity full of spirit, tradition, pure joy, and excitement, future Starlighters felt the energy within the building. Starnighters and their families left with special treats, smiles on their faces, and memories to last all summer. With a successfully completed Starnight experience under the Starlight sky, campers and Starnighters already can’t wait for the next one!
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Elizabeth E. and I am an upper senior. Thank you for allowing me to come up to talk about the theme of the summer, appreciation, tonight. I would like to start out by saying that 2 of my biggest role models in my life are my older sisters. One is a counselor here this summer. There is 7 year age gap between my oldest sister Sarah and I. So, when I was a lower junior, Sarah was an upper senior. I distinctly remember a time after my lower junior summer when my sister and I were talking about camp and how much we missed it. Sarah turned, looked at me and said, “Elizabeth, you have so many summer left there as a camper. I would do anything to be a junior again and have 8 more summers left at camp. Appreciate it.” Many leagues games, divisional shows, sing-a-longs, and Friday night services later I am now where she once was as an upper senior. I too would do anything to be a lower junior again with so much time as camper left ahead of me. But I would like to think that I took her advice, that I truly appreciated every moment spent here. I now know the importance of stepping back and appreciating every stunning sunset over the lake, every memory made and every one of the 35 girls in my division that I now call family but were once strangers when I was a junior. I don’t know what I would do without them. It’s important to take notice to how much Starlight helps us grow and mature. To appreciate that camp changes us all for the better.
Today marks the tenth day at our beautiful summer home. To celebrate, some of our Junior campers were happy to share their favorite part about Camp Starlight so far! Here’s our top ten list:
Many things inevitably grow over the course of the summer: the grass, your height, and of course, everyone’s love for Camp Starlight skyrockets to new levels. As the days roll by, the most noticeable growth and developments are the prospering friendships between new campers.
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.
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.
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.