Letter to a Friend

Dear … Friend 

How’s life? I am doing really well. I had an interview and tour at Deerfield yesterday. It went really really well so that’s a good sign. How’s school? It’s been a little while since I have talked to you and I hope that we can catch up soon. I wish I could see you more often but I get home so late that we have no time.

Camp

How it changed my life

You change the world by being yourself.

~Yoko Ono

I was crying.

My little nine-year-old self sitting in the car driving to a sleepaway camp that I have never heard of. I was anxious out of my mind, squirming in the back seat whaling. I didn’t know what I had gotten myself into. But I didn’t know that I would find brothers and friendships that last a lifetime.

Spending time with brothers is the best thing you could ask for. This camp is the best part of my entire summer. I pulled in next to the cabin where I would be  sleeping in for the next two weeks with strangers. I walked in and thought to myself this is going to be horrible. Wow was I wrong about that? Sleeping in a cabin with nine boys that you become extremely close makes the experience so much better. You become so connected with your cabin mates you are almost twins. I brought all of my things into the cabin and made my bed. I had gotten the top bunk in the middle left side of the small cabin. I walked outside and ran over to my other cabin mates and started to make friends. This was the hardest part, making friends with new people you have never seen before. This experience made it much easier for me to make friends with new people because you are put into a situation with no people you know. This is a huge life skill, it helped me so much especially my first year at Fenn when I knew nobody. I was still uncertain about this whole experience. I mean a nine-year-old boy like me at a camp in the middle of New Hampshire. But after the first couple of days, I already was having the best time ever. I knew I would want to come back next year and the year after that. Comparing my first year at camp and my sixth year, this past summer I was shocked at how scared I was my first year. This camp has given me so many skills and opportunities. It gives you a chance to be yourself at all times and teaches you to be happy and comfortable around others. That is the most important thing. You can’t be happy without being yourself.

Even though my house is home, camp is my home away from home.

   A Trip Into The Woods

Reflecting, Overcoming Fear, and joy

Don't give in to your fears. If you do, you won't be able to talk to your heart.

~Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

It was Sunday night, I was tossing and turning, throwing my pillow at the wall. I was not excited for this trip. Going to Winslow Maine for two nights with my classmates that I have never been with outside of school. This trip did not seem like it was going to be fun, it seemed awful. I learned that it was quite the opposite. It was great! The trip to Camp Caribou gave me a chance to bond with my classmates before we start an amazing school year. I learned how to find joy in the little things, reflect on events and how to overcome fear.