Summer Camp. What do you think about when you hear those two words? I think about spending lots of time every summer at my summer camp, Camp Ramah in Conover, Wisconsin. I’ve been attending Ramah for 7 years (if you include the virtual activities last year). This was my 2nd (supposed to be 3rd) summer attending for two months, almost the whole summer.

     Before camp, I was really nervous. As soon as I stepped off the bus, all those nerves went away. I felt a familiarity. I felt like I was home.

     At Ramah, there are so many activities that you can choose from. Every day, you have a sport, swimming, and an arts activity. My favorite activities included tennis, cooking, and drama. My whole age group performed synchronized swimming dances, and best of all, a play. Every group that goes for two months does a play in Hebrew. Our group did High School Musical. It was really fun to perform, and especially fun having ice cream afterwards with all my friends.

     Speaking of friends, I got really close with the guys in my cabin. Due to COVID-19, for the first ten days, we did everything with just the people in our cabin and the connecting one. This allowed us to really bond as a group through activities such as basketball, watching the NBA Finals, and getting our own nicknames. I still keep in touch with most of the guys today. 

     Perhaps most importantly, camp provided a great break from the stress and realities of our world today. Other than wearing masks for the first ten days, off and on for a week when my brother came, five days later on, and weekly COVID tests, we never had to worry about COVID. It felt amazing to not have to deal with all of the stress.

     The counselors were amazing. When I was going through some personal issues, they were there for me. They also made sure that we had an amazing summer by planning all the amazing activities we did. One of the highlights of my summer was getting to plan three activities for my group with a friend, which was made possible by those same counselors.

     All in all, I had a great experience at camp this summer, and it was life-changing, in more ways than one. If you let it, camp will change your life too.