Personality of a Cabin

I've been working on getting together an alumni newsletter to send out to our staff alumni--this is the first one that has been done in years, so I've been trying to figure out what to include, how it should look, and all of that. I've been thinking about what camp news is of interest to alumni; while I'm sure that some will be interested to hear what is happening around camp these days, it seems like what will be of most interest is what their friends from camp are up to.

So, I've been emailing a few alumni recently to see which of them and their friends from camp have had big life events recently they want to share with other alumni. One sent me a picture from his wedding and in identifying the people in the picture, he also told me which cabin they had been a counselor in.

It's been about 10 years since they were on staff, and yet, it was so easy for him to remember what cabin they were all in. It made me think about how each cabin or unit takes on its own personality.

I was always a Cabin 7 counselor (a daisy cabin)--the youngest campers, with counselors that were typically pretty girly and preppy, decorating the cabin with pink and ribbons and daisies.

Cabin 7 was perfect for me--it matched my personality well, and I loved every second of it. Over the years, its been fun to see other Cabin 7 counselors, and the similarities between us that make Cabin 7 that perfect fit. And the same goes for each cabin--there is a certain personality to each cabin, and finding the staff to both fit the cabin and complement each other can be tricky. But when you make that match--that cabin really can become an identifying characteristic for someone. Hearing that someone was a counselor in a particular cabin gives me a pretty good idea of what their personality might be like--another element of that language specific to camp!

Perspectives

Today, I received a facebook message from one of the international staff that I worked at camp with 6 or 7 summers ago. The last line of the message said "I might have only been in Kanata for a summer but the camp has changed my perspective in many things and the camp has a special position in my heart."

I often hear people talk about the life-changing aspect of camp, but I rarely think about the way that camp has changed my perspective on things. Because camp has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, I tend to think about the specific experiences I have had, the things I have learned, or the ways I have grown. I often forget about the fact that, had I not spent my summers at camp, there are many things I would not have been exposed to that do have an impact on the way I view the world and my perspective on things.

Having the opportunity to spend a summer working with international staff, or as a camper, have international counselors, gave me an opportunity to get a glimpse into cultures I most likely never would have experienced otherwise. Through camp I've known staff from England, Russia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, France, Israel... and probably a few other places I've forgotten at the moment.

I've worked with people that I have absolutely nothing in common with--except for our love of camp. There is little chance I ever would have interacted with them outside of camp, but I am so thankful that camp has given me the opportunity to find friendships in unexpected places.

I have learned quite a bit about celiac disease, between having a co-counselor with it, and the gluten-free week we've hosted at camp for the past several years. A camper with cystic fibrosis compelled me to learn more about that. Panic attacks, eating disorders, and diabetes--all things I am a little more familiar with because of camp.

My perspective on the importance of kids experiencing nature, on our educational systems, and on leadership have all been heavily influenced by my camp experiences. My views on so many topics have been either been expanded or developed because of camp. The variety of people I have interacted with through camp--whether staff, campers, or parents--has forced me to give serious thought to topics and issues I probably would have never given a second thought to, if not for camp.

Camp has given me a broader filter to run my life experiences through, and for that I am grateful.

Culture

The other day, a few friends and I were sitting around, trying to decide where to go to dinner. Once we had made a decision, we continued to sit; being hungry, I decided to start moving towards the car. So I stood up, and said "LDT". My friends looked at me like I was speaking another language, and I realized that I was using camp slang from almost 5 years ago. In the summer of 2005, "LDT" was a frequently used abbreviation for "Let's do this", said before doing almost anything. That summer there was almost another language being spoken at camp... someone who didn't know our staff at all would have been very puzzled trying to decipher the "birthday cakes", "LDTs", and many other words and abbreviations that took the place of anything resembling a typical sentence.

Around camp, however, the typical conversation involved a whole lot of nonsensical sentences that made perfect sense to all of us. As I was thinking about how easy it was for camp slang from years ago to still make an appearance, I started thinking about the culture of camp.

Every camp has its own unique culture. There are things that tend to be similar, of course, from camp to camp, but each camp has its own trends, slang, and social norms. While what is going on in the "real world" has an effect on the culture of a camp, because you are mostly disconnected from anything outside of camp, obscure things become trends. What is "cool" at camp isn't necessarily what is going to be cool outside of camp, and I think this is part of the appeal of camp.

While ultimately the culture of a camp is set by the director and leadership staff, the staff and the campers at a camp have far more ability to influence culture and trends than they do at school, or other places outside of camp. In the "outside world", culture is going to be heavily influenced by TV, celebrities, and what is #1 on the charts. Camp is different, and sometimes that change is just what you need.