The summer(s) that altered the course of my life!

Now, before I get into this let me say two things. One, it’s been ages since I last wrote anything, I understand that. Suffice it to say 2022 was…hectic. However, here we are a couple of months and many milestones and misfortunes later and I am back, for now, or for good, who knows! Two, this will in no way be related to what I normally write about. No book review, no upcoming books, no gifts to buy for the bookworm in your life.

What I am writing about today, is something that I have been wanting to write about for the better part of 6/7 years. At some points I even started jotting down my thoughts, only to erase them again with the same speed. So if comes across as a long ramble, I do apologize. Chalk it up to the fact that this has been swirling around in my brain for – well forever.

What’s different about today? Nothing in particular to be honest. It’s as good a day as any to do something a little bit scary. So let me tell you about the summer(s) that altered the course of my life. Yes, I appreciate that sounds a tad dramatic, but bear with me – it’s true.

Starting with the summer of 2013, the summer I first set foot at the place that would soon become my ‘home away from home’. Camp Towanda. What I didn’t know then is how this place would change me as a person.

In 2013, I had just finished my 2nd year of University. Some of the ‘scariest’ things I had done up to that point were moving away from home (45 minutes down the road, thank you very much!) and going on a skiing trip without my parents (very much organized and supervised by my high school). So I wasn’t necessarily sheltered, but boy I hadn’t seen much of the world yet. I had never been on a plane before. I had never traveled by myself. I was a 19-year-old bundle of low self-esteem, doubts and worries, and very few ideas about who I was or what I wanted out of life. So naturally, I set myself the challenge of doing something that utterly terrified me.

Traveling to the other side of the world to work at a summer camp! Seeing as summer camps are not a thing in the Netherlands, not to the same extent as in the USA at least, I had little to no idea of what to expect. Yes, I was going to teach gymnastics, and Yes I was going to take care of the campers in my bunk, but beyond that? Well…let’s just say I was a blank canvas. How was I going to get there? Who would I be working with? What if I couldn’t speak English well enough – I was going to be the only Dutch counselor after all! All of those questions swirled through my brain nearly constantly.

Then, at 6 pm on the 12th of June 2013, I stepped off a yellow school bus, at Niles Pond Road. I was almost immediately swept up in a big hug by someone I had never met before, and I must have looked like a mannequin. Standing there, perfectly stiff whilst my brain was trying to process what on earth just happened? Don’t worry, I’ve since come to accept and celebrate the hugs! We were bundled into the Mess Hall for a quick bite to eat – turkey sandwiches and our first introduction to Jonesy’s cookies, before heading to our orientation bunks.

Now I won’t take you through what happened every hour of every day for the next 10 weeks but trust me when I say I could and would if you asked me to. What I will take you through, after this immensely detailed introduction/exposition dump, is what happened over the following weeks.

I grew. Helped by some of the incredible people I was interacting with on a daily basis, I grew so much as a person that it still baffles me now, almost 10 years later when I think about it.

My campers, my Inter Girls of 2013, who helped or rather forced me to be less of a control freak and a perfectionist with each and every single one of their funny and frustrating antics. Teaching me the true meaning of the saying “hey, it’s camp!” Everything that can go wrong will and you will find yourself laughing and smiling through it all. The girls who confronted me with a lot of things I had been holding onto subconsciously since I had been 12 years old myself. They made an impact in ways they might never fathom.

My head of Department, who by being an incredible role model showed me it was ok to set boundaries and enforce them unapologetically. Who treated everyone with kindness, respect, and an open mind unless they gave her a reason not to. Who, in a more practical sense, taught me things about gymnastics that I had no idea about, even after 20 years in the sport. Who treated me as one of her own children – which earned her the nickname ‘my Camp Mom’.

My fellow bunk counselors who taught me that being me – just being me was good enough. Showing me compassion, kindness, and relentless support from day one. Making me feel included as one of the few, if not the only counselor, who did not come from an English-speaking country. Who gently poked and prodded me to try new things, visit new places, and eat new foods. Make mistakes and laugh at myself whilst doing it.

The Senior staff, who by placing their trust in me – a 19-year-old girl from a pokey little country across the Atlantic - gave me a newfound purpose. Who backed me up when things got rough, teaching me it was ok to ask for help when you can’t think your way out. Whose love and passion for all things camp has infected me to a point that it is still one of the things I always talk about. Hence these ramblings. Who carry the responsibility of caring for roughly 450 campers and 300 staff members with such grace, you’d never expect a thing.

All of these people and the many others I haven’t listed here taught me valuable lessons. Lessons I carry with me to this day. Whether that is in my personal relationships or corporate life. At the end of the day Camp and in my case Towanda was a place where I could learn and grow in a judgment-free environment, where I could figure out who I was without the (imagined) expectations of those who knew me best back home, where I could try new things and see how they fit, where I became a better, more well-rounded person overall. That summer, and the people I met along the way, truly altered the course of my life. So much so, that I have spent many hours since trying to find ways to give back. Ultimately – there is only one way to do this. To return and be this counselor for someone else. So I did, in 2016 and I will again in 2023!