I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
There is a reason that camp friends are the best friends. Camp friends see the good, the bad and the beautiful about you and love you just the way you are. This kind of acceptance is something that most of us don’t recieve from friendship anywhere else in the world. It is so hard to describe these friendships of grace until you experience them, but friends at camp are unlike any other friends in your life. Camp friends forgive you even before you apologize, they love you especially when you are having a hard time loving yourself and they see the best in you that you simply refuse to see.
Today I was reminded of these special friendships as I chatted with some campers around camp. I always ask, “How’s camp been? What have you loved the most about your experience? What has surprised you about camp?” Some talk about the activities or their favorite achievement, but most of the campers talk about the people of Camp Highlander and how they made them feel.
One camper talked about being loved at camp when he had trouble feeling accepted at school, on his sports teams and even in his neighborhood. Another camper said that coming to camp has given her the courage to know she will make friends when she starts a new school this fall. A senior camper shared with me that Camp Highlander is the only place she felt she could just be herself and be liked.
This is the ONE LOVE of Camp Highlander - to love and be loved. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Favorite Details of the Day
- Reflect at the Rock: Today Evan, our basketball activity counselor, talked to us about being a part of the Camp Highlander family. He shared how as a first year staff member, he was amazed at the love, support and encouragement that filled the heart of camp each and every day. He said he had never seen anything like it before, and he was so grateful to be a part of the CH family.
- Meals: This morning we had breakfast burritos and fruit bar. Lunch was chicken sandwiches, waffle fries and salad bar. Dinner was spaghetti with meatsauce, caesar salad, garlic bread and sauteed squash and zuccini!
- EP: Square Dance
- Weather: Today we fluxuated between overcast and sunny skies. We had a light rainfall before lunch, but activities continued through the drizzle. It was a great day!
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About Melissa Fitzgerald
