When I first got to college the last thing I expected was to hangout at the Wesley Foundation almost everyday. But come second semester freshman year and my best friend and I were always there, studying. Something that my friends there always remind me of was my first interaction with them. When I first walked into the Wesley Foundation with some friends I was so nervous. I remember one of my now closest friends saying hi, and the campus minister welcoming us. My friends said hi like normal people, but me? Not so normal. I said, "Hi, I'm Jewish."

I was raised in a Jewish household, so in all honesty that's all I knew. I really didn't know anything about the Christian faith. But even after that introduction, they welcomed me with open arms and I met amazing people there. When it came closer to the end of the year one of my really good friends told me that I should work at summer camp with her. She said that even though it was a Methodist summer camp, I would always be welcome. So even though I was nervous, I sent in my application.

To my surprise, I was hired as craft leader and photographer for that summer.

I went to camp that summer afraid of being different. I was terrified that my religion would ostracize me. But it didn't. At first I tried to keep my difference a secret, but when it eventually came out everyone was accepting and liked me all the same.

I fell in love with the camp, the campers, the staff members and who I was when I was there. I loved it so much that I reapplied the next year but as a counselor. Now that is a bit more complex. As counselor at this camp, we must have lesson time with the kids and talk about God and Jesus. So how do I do that, when I was raised Jewish? Well here comes the lesson in this story, BE RESPECTFUL OF OTHERS RELIGIONS. I was hired as a counselor not only for my love of the campers and camp but because I have respect for what everyone believes. I wasn't going to this Methodist camp to teach what I was raised to believe. I was going there to help my campers feel loved by God. I was there to help them find their faith or keep it. It had nothing to do with me. It had everything to do with my campers.

This leads me to my favorite part of this story. My campers. I'm not going to name any names whatsoever but pretty much, I love them all so much. Every single one of the, I don't even know how many I had. So many intense things happened this last summer but in all honesty? It was the most perfect, amazing summer of my life. I witnessed kids find hope. I saw them find friends that would last forever. I saw laughs that lead to tears of happiness. I saw lives being changed and the beauty of this camp in the eyes of my kids. What's so rewarding about this job is that. Seeing your kids happiness and growth.

The weirdest things have happened to me at camp. The most intense, stressful things, as well as the happiest times of my life. But there is one thing I will always remember about these times. I will remember that we all saw God at camp last summer. And even though it's a Christian camp and I was raised Jewish but later became pretty much without any belief, I saw God everywhere. I saw God in the trees, in the lake and in the buildings. I saw him in the staff and in the volunteers. But mostly, I saw him in the kids.

Now. Why did I tell you this story? It seems quite random. But in reality this kind of thing is so important right now. Especially with Donald Trump as our new president. Yeah I know. I didn't want to bring him up in this article either, but I can't just let this connection go. We need to respect each other’s religious beliefs. Just because I was raised Jewish, does not mean that a Christian's beliefs are wrong. And just because that woman on the bus, walking down the street, in the grocery store, or doing any other normal thing, is wearing a hijab does not make her a terrorist. It makes her a HUMAN. It makes her a PERSON. With rights just like you and me. I want there to be peace between us all and I want people of all religions be accepted and loved like I was as the different one working at a Christian summer camp.