It’s been only five days since our campers headed home after a glorious summer. Many are now on the slow march towards school while some have already started. School is supposed the spot for learning and camp for fun, right? Well….

There are certainly differences between camp and school. The one that is most striking to me rests in the fact that camp reminds us – how to live as a community, stay in the present, be grateful, kind, and courageous. On the other side, school teaches us that which we do not already know – geometry, history, foreign language, biology, etc.

We built a lot of wonderful memories at camp this summer. Amazing Tribals and Olympics, new friends from lots of different places, great daily activities and hilarious evening events. We laughed and played and learned together.

So, if we think of Camp Weequahic as a place that reminds us, then what memories will be important to take into school? I’ve got a few ideas.

There are LOTS of people who accept you for who you are.

You’ve also remembered life is a lot easier, more fun, more interesting when you can live as… well, you! That’s an easy lesson to forget when you are plugged back into school and into your phone. Watch out for the comparison trap. It’s not worth your time or attention. Just be yourself… everyone is taken anyway!

Practicing gratitude, choosing your attitude, building courage, and acting with kindness really does make the world around you better.

Easier at camp, yes, because we are all doing it together every day. But that didn’t just happen. We made a conscious effort to act that way. Those actions influenced everyone else at camp. You can have that effect in your home and school, too!

You can do a lot more than you often think you can.

We call it ‘independence’ in the grown-up world but the message is the same – you can act and think more on your own than you often think you can. You just spent three or six weeks away from your parents where you made a whole bunch of friends, decided on which activities to try, made your bed, chose your food, handled your laundry (and lost and found….) You can do so much – take pride in that!

Being afraid isn’t that scary.

All of our new and many of our returning campers had moments of fear: will I make new friends? Will my old friends still like me? I’m away from home for this long for the first time…. And you still had a blast! You’ve remembered that having those moments of trepidation just prepares you to do something brave – reaching out, trying something new, letting your guard down and just being you.

Camp has certainly reminded us about more than this small list. To me, though, these memories will help us in lots of ways as we head into the school year. So, for the week ahead, whether you are going to be hitting the books or hitting the road for a fun last few moments of summer, take some time to remember so that you can learn all the better.

Have a great week!

“Journeying is the act of traveling from one place to another—not a moment of arrival. You get ‘there’ by being committed to the journey.” – Bernadette Jiwa

We are all on a journey, we are all going ‘somewhere.’ The questions are, “Where do we want to go?  What will we choose to guide us? And, what would be important to bring along?”

I hope that by this point, our returning families know the values that guide Weequahic – Gratitude, Attitude, and Courage.

What to bring along? Well…I’m sure there are lots of things that would be useful. Personal qualities like independence, curiosity, patience, and empathy would be great. So would a sense of being able to learn and adapt. And don’t forget friends. They can make any journey not only successful but fun as well.

Hm…. Sounds like we pretty much have everything we need here at Camp Weequahic to get where we want to go – a destination (creating awesome), values to guide us, a place to practice and experiment, and lots and lots of friends!

I’ve always been fascinated by wolves. They are incredible creatures who thrive and play together. I’ve
spoken about two wolves around the campfire before.

In my reading this year, I stumbled over a wonderful poem from Rudyard Kipling about wolves I had yet to read:

Now this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky,

And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die.

As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back;

For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.

There is a great deal more to this poem which I’ll leave to you to enjoy. However, I wanted to focus on the last line because it’s vital for any community and especially, I think, Weequahic.

The Camper and Camp

Our campers come from all over. While they are from different backgrounds and have vastly different experiences, they share one thing in common: they want to make a friend this summer.

Our community is only as good as the connections that are built within it. In order for it to be the best it can be, our campers have to come prepared to reach out to everyone around them. It doesn’t matter that we have differences. What matters is that we work together to have a blast.

The strength of Weequahic is in each one of our campers and staff members. From this amazing collection of people comes our joy, fellowship, excitement and adventure. The strength of Weequahic is certainly in each camper.

And, as we come together at camp for three or six weeks, we are bound together by tradition and our values of gratitude, attitude, and courage. Without these shared sentiments, we would have no chance of creating the type of experience we enjoy. Therefore, as the poem suggests, the happiness and strength of each camper and staff member comes from camp.

We cannot wait to get everyone to Weequahic this summer. It’s going to be an amazing summer!

Can’t wait for camp,

Cole Kelly, Director