Nestled in a small corner of Candlewood Lake in New Fairfield, CT, there is a quaint, beautiful community named Candlewood Knolls. A place strong with family connections and lifelong friendships, "the Knolls" has fostered generation after generation of summer fun. Spending the summer in the Knolls began with my mother, whose parents took her family to the Knolls when she was little. The cycle has continued into my family's traditions. Throughout my summers here, I have developed friendships with the most amazing group of people I have ever known. They are friends who have not only provided me friendship in its purest form but have truly helped shape me into who I am today. I can say, without a doubt, our friendship stems far beyond the summer months and will continue for years and years to come.

When I was young, the day camp in the Knolls, the Candlewood Knolls Children's Program, was my favorite part of the summer. Dodgeball, free swim, swim team practice, arts and crafts, and the talent show were among my favorite activities. The relationship between camper and camp counselor was a sacred bond and a generational cycle. My counselors were my sister and her friends. Their counselors were their campers parents, and so on and so forth. Each year at camp fostered the most amazing bonds.

As I got older, my fellow campers became so much more. My singular best friend Ashley, who had been my rock since I was two, soon became a strong group of girlfriends, consisting of Meghan, Drew, Emily, Jaime, Elizabeth, Liza, Alexa, and more. These girls quickly became not only my friends, but a part of my family, each of us spending numerous consecutive hours at one another's houses, on each other's boats, swimming in the lake, or riding around on golf-carts. There was not a minute of the summer that I was not with these girls. They are and have continued to be, the closest group of friends I have. They are the cause of many tears, most of which from laughing, and the source of my happiness.

Within the past few summers, looking at my time in the Knolls in retrospect, I have learned how important this community is to me. My time in the Knolls allowed me the time to both escape and rediscover. I escaped my tireless, daily schedule. The hectic routine of my daily life throughout the year is replaced by the calm serenity only this place can provide.

My family is given the time to reconnect and rediscover, allowing for the ties that make us family to further into mutual respect and love as friends. I am given time with my extended family, who are also a part of this community and have the ability to cherish these relationships with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. My parents' friends have become like parents to me. I know they are always there to safeguard me, wish me well in my future, and are a large part of the way I was raised. My friends' parents have become second parents to me. I even call them 'Mom' and 'Dad' (shout out to you guys, really). They have put up with our crazy antics, and fed, clothed, and housed me for years and years. They, too, have played a major role in my life. My campers have become a source of responsibility that which I hold sacred. I have watched them grow older and am shocked each summer to see the beautiful people they are becoming.

It is hard to put words to the majestic ability the Knolls has to foster these relationships. Throughout lows in my life, whether it be stress, family issues, friend issues, or more, the people in the Knolls have the ability to support you in ways that exceed that of simply a neighbor. They are more than neighbors and friends; they are family. We celebrate each other's victories and mourn each other's losses. I can say with certainty that of all the places in the world that I love, the Knolls is the key and home to my heart.

So, to the Knolls, to the place, the community, and most of all, the people, you all have played a significant role in my life. To my best friends, thank you for picking up every call. Thank you for staying up with me to ungodly hours, making memories I could never forget. Thank you for being my soulmates, and the people that I trust and love more than anything. To my home, thank you for eighteen summers of joy, affection, and love. Here's to many more summer days, summer nights, and one heck of a party.

All my love,

Helen