If someone were to ask me right now two words that describe my childhood, they would be “Camp Tanuga.”

All my life I have been going to sleep away camp in the summer for seven weeks of fun, friends, and freedom. This camp was like no other, It was magical! My summer home for the past nine years, Camp Tanuga.

I was told since I was 7-years-old that summers go by so fast and you need to cherish your time at camp but that saying is the truth. It will now be two whole summers of not returning to my second home and I have never been more upset about it. This was the place where I found me, I found my friends, my family, and the meaning of love. I was and will always be deeply connected to the magic of the arts and crafts room, the mess hall, the barn, the reck-deck, the flagpole, the bear, and most importantly BACK GIRLS.

To every single Camp Tanuga camper, staff, and admin thank you. Thank you for changing my life and making my childhood summers the best they could ever be.Thank you for the late night talks, mess hall cheers,midnight dance parties, endless snacking, beach days, dressing up for the hell of it!, Sneaking out, stargazing, naked laps, boys talk... lots of boy talk, flag raising, sleepless nights, bonfires, gossips sessions, but most of all Thanks for telling me to not be afraid to be me, for not judging me, thanks for the endless inside jokes, and for the bonds created over the years.

The memories I made over my nine years at camp will always and forever be with me. Thank you for teaching me that the love and support from others can get you through anything. Thank you for being here for me through the worst and the best, for making me feel important, for teaching me, for making me laugh uncontrollably, for being my best friends. I will always and forever love you all unconditionally.

And to the kids who are lucky enough to go back to your home-away-from-home: cherish it, do something you'd never think you would do. Be adventurous! Put yourself out there, meet new people, dance on stage and make a fool of yourself, but most importantly create bonds with your cabin mates, because although in 10 years you might not be able to return to camp, you can ALWAYS count on your camp friends. As much as the camp you go to makes your summer, the people which experience it with you are like no other.

I look back on my best memories and every single one of them has taken place at Tanuga. Lake Manistee is where I caught my first fish, got up on skis for my first time, it is where I learned how much I hated a canoe! The shed is where I learned how to put on a 45-pound pack and hike for what seemed like an eternity, but I ended up loving it.

Over the course of seven weeks my CIT summer year I had learned more about myself than in my entire 17 years of life. This is because I was so connected just by being disconnected. No phones or TVs, just me, my family, and outdoor activities! Just writing about all this brings that happiness back that I always get inside when I step off the bus and into Kalkaska Michigan. I feel more at home in a little, old cabin away from real life than I do in my own house.

Mark my words Camp Tanuga – I will be back.