Every year around the same time I begin to get that jittery feeling of butterflies in my stomach. It is around the middle of June when these feelings arrive. This is the time when school is ending, but most importantly, summer is beginning. For the past nine years of my life, I have attended a sleep away summer camp named Timber Lake Camp. Starting at only seven years old, the summer going into 3rd grade, I have grown up at camp and doing so has taught me many lessons that will stick with me for the rest of my life.
Back in 2007, my first summer at camp, I can still remember to this day the feeling I had pulling up the hill on the bus. I went not knowing one person, so it is safe to say I was pretty nervous. Would I make friends? Would my counselors be nice? Would I like it here? Once we arrived at the entrance gates, my eyes grew wide. The astonishing sight of the camp and all of its facilities along with the mountainous scenery just amazed me. I remember tapping the girl sitting next to me, then a stranger, now one of my best friends, and telling her to look out the window at the fascinating and beautiful sight.
Fast forward nine years, this upcoming summer, the summer of 2015, will be my last summer spent as a camper at Timber Lake Camp. I can not believe that nine years flew by that quickly. Like I stated before, the lessons learned at camp will stick with me forever. For example, it is Timber Lake tradition that every Saturday night right before dinner, the whole camp comes together on the girl’s lower basketball court for something called “STARFISH” lineup. The acronym “STARFISH” stands for sportsmanship, tolerance, appreciation, respect, friendship, integrity, sensitivity, and helpfulness. Throughout the week, campers, counselors, coaches, and other staff members around camp have the chance to nominate someone for an act that they committed that refers back to one of those eight attributes that make up “STARFISH”.  Then, right before the lineup on Saturday, the director or girl’s side goes through the box of nominations and picks one nomination per attribute to receive the STARFISH award and same goes for the director on boy’s side. Right before dinner, the lineup takes place. The owner and director of camp, Jay Jacobs, starts each STARFISH lineup with a story ultimately depicting a moral or lesson to be learned that relates to one of the STARFISH attributes. Then each award is presented. If chosen, one receives an award, a STARFISH sticker, as well as a black string necklace with a silver starfish hanging from it. Knowing from experience, it is a tremendous feeling when that necklace is slipped over your head and proudly hangs from around your neck.
Aside from all of the lessons camp has taught me, the friendships that I have made there are irreplaceable. I have met some of my best friends at camp and I know these friendships will last forever. While talking to my aunt, still to this day she reminisces on the friendships and memories created at the sleep away camp she attended when she was my age. From not knowing anybody to creating such tight bonds with all of the girls in my age group, the connection we all have is more than just friends. Actually living with someone creates a completely different connection between the two people; encountering them face-to-face every day opposed to just seeing them at school and on the weekends.
Just as the butterflies grew in my stomach mid June, they reappeared in about mid August. Camp was coming to an end and we would be going home, back to our towns, families, and friends. It is always a weary time, that last night at camp, because whether it is your first summer or your tenth summer, every single person feels a tight connection for the people and the place that they have spent their last seven weeks at. The last night at camp is always the award ceremony. Some awards presented are “camper of the year”, “most improved camper”, and so on. After the conclusion of the awards, there is always a “burnout” celebration across the lake. The maintenance crew sets up wooden silhouettes representing several occurrences that took place that summer that made an impact – the color war teams, favorite songs, etc. Then, as the whole camp gathers around watching, the owner walks over to the sight and lights the wooden structures to flames. This signifies the end of an amazing summer as well as all of those memories that will last a lifetime.
Overall, Timber Lake has done so much for me as a person. It has helped me grow while instilling important values as well as helping me create friendships that will last forever. It is insane to think that this upcoming summer of 2015 will be my last summer attending as a camper. However, as the owner of my camp continues to say on the last night of camp year after year, “this is not a ‘goodbye’. It is merely just a ‘see you next summer’”.