There are moments in life that feel ordinary while they’re happening, but end up changing everything. For both of us, one of those moments was stepping onto a bus headed to sleepaway camp for the first time.
Sammy was on her way to Camp Wicosuta in New Hampshire, clutching a duffel bag that somehow felt bigger than she was. Samara was headed to Camp Young Judaea, trying not to let anyone see just how nervous she felt. Neither of us knew it then, but those bus rides would become the beginning of some of the most important years of our lives.
Today we’re 17 years old, and when we think about the girls who stepped onto those buses for the first time, it’s hard to believe they’re us.
Not because we’ve become completely different people. But because camp changed us in ways we never expected. The first-year campers we once were spent a lot of time worrying.
Would we make friends?
Would our bunkmates like us?
Would we miss home too much?
Would we fit in?
Did we pack enough Soffe shorts?
Every new activity felt intimidating. Every social situation felt high stakes. We were convinced everyone else knew exactly what they were doing while we were just trying to keep up. But camp has a funny way of helping you grow without realizing it’s happening.
One summer becomes two.
Two become five.
And suddenly you’ve spent almost half your life returning to the same place every June.
You stop being the youngest camper at camp and become one of the older campers. The one who knows the traditions. The one who knows the songs. The one helping someone else through the same nerves you once felt yourself. You go from being homesick to helping another camper through her homesickness. You stop worrying about whether you belong and start realizing camp is one of the places where you belong most.
At Wicosuta, Sammy learned that confidence isn’t something you’re born with. It’s something you build. It comes from trying things you’re not sure you’ll be good at. It comes from speaking up, performing in front of people, competing, failing, trying again, and realizing that being brave doesn’t mean you’re not scared. It means doing it anyway.
At Young Judaea, Samara learned independence. Camp became one of the first places where she could figure out who she was outside of school, outside of expectations, and outside of what everyone already thought they knew about her. Every summer offered another chance to become a little more herself.
And somehow, year after year, camp became more than just a place.
It became friendships that survived long winters apart. It became traditions that marked the passing of time and people who knew every version of us. Some of our camp friends remember us when we were shy. Some remember us when we were awkward. Some remember us when we thought we knew everything. They watched us grow up in real time. And we watched them grow up too.
Looking back now, one of the most surprising things about camp isn’t how much fun we had. It’s how much we changed. The little lessons became the big lessons. Learning how to solve problems on our own and how to live with people who are different from us. Learning how to be resilient when things don’t go according to plan and that confidence comes from experience, not perfection. Learning that some of the best moments happen when nobody is trying to create them.
When we were younger, we thought camp was about activities, Color War, campfires, songs, and traditions. And it was. But it was also about becoming.
Becoming stronger. Becoming more independent. Becoming more resilient. Becoming more comfortable with who we are.
Now, as we prepare for whatever comes next, we’re grateful for every version of ourselves that camp helped create.
The nervous little girls stepping onto those buses had no idea who they would become. They couldn’t imagine the friendships they’d build. The memories they’d collect. The confidence they’d gain. They definitely couldn’t imagine the people writing this today. But if we could go back and tell those girls one thing, it would be this:
You’re about to grow in ways you can’t see yet.
You’re about to discover strengths you don’t know you have.
And one day, years from now, you’ll look back and realize that getting on that bus was one of the best decisions you ever made.
The version of us that stepped on those buses wouldn’t recognize the version of us writing this.
But we think they’d be proud.
About the contributors:
Samara Feuerstein and Sammy Goldstein have been working with us this Spring for their Senior Options. They are confident all the skills they learned at their summers at camp has prepared them for the next step as they are both heading to college this Fall. Samara will be going to Syracuse University to study Social Work and Sammy is heading to The Ohio State University to study Hospitality Management. We’re so excited for them and wish them the best of luck!