Last week, camp ended. No, this isn't some fun sports or adult camp that I attended during my college years for sheer "experience". For 6 weeks I got to go swimming, do arts and crafts, and roast marshmallows for my job. Sounds fun right? Well, it is, but it is also hard work. The thing about Culver Woodcraft is that no matter what I do to affiliate myself with it, the experience I had as a camper will boast so much meaning. While learning how to handle new challenges for my second year as an assistant counselor, I decided to reflect on my own personal experience and the experiences of campers I have observed. I have to say, off the bat that I am not a poet and probably never will be, so this might not follow some secret rules I don't know of. So here is my poem. Untitled. Unfiltered.

This is dedicated to all of those who have experienced a Culver summer

The sweat on my back trickles with each second moving slower and slower with every command from those in front of me...

But as I begin to lose hope, I start to stand strong

Every day I wake up to the sounds of pandemonium and I rush to start a day that I know will be gone in a minute

Recounting my steps, I see how far I've walked through the tallest of grass, the steepest of hills, in the rain, cold, dark and the heat… hotter than ever imaginable

I've lost my tears, my sanity and sometimes my will to try harder no matter what I am told to do...

but in the end, I can't imagine it any other way

When I am here, I live in a world without a screen orchestrating my choices and telling me that my outsides matter more than my insides

When I am here, I can be a leader, a follower, a dancer, an archer, a swimmer, an artist, a player, a star, a builder and the person who keeps running only to look back at the legacy I've left behind.

When I am here, I am in an element I can only get from this

When I am here, I am home

My ears listen to the sounds of creatures, a lively drum, laughter, that damn bugle, tears of joy, togetherness, whistles, the lake and my own voice saying “I can do this.”

For every struggle I can name as far back as 4 years, I can make up with the memories that leave me pining for just one more summer

Not every day is pretty or easy or fun but every year, I learn more about myself and the fantastic ones I care for, no matter where they walk from or the color of their skin

At the end of the day, I go to sleep with the same amount of pandemonium as before...

But this time, I feel inside that tomorrow will be great and awesome and challenging but beautiful because after all…

this is a #Culversummer

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to keeping the magic of these summers alive and fun-filled.