In 2009 I went to a summer camp that changed my life in more ways that I ever knew was possible I made friends for life, became open to trying new things and overall made me a better person. This past summer I went back to camp as a counselor and had a different but still an amazing experience as I did as a camper.

This summer I reconnected with a fellow couselor who was also a camper who changed my life for the better. We are inseparable. Over winter break I went to visit her at her house in Maine and the most amazing time. It was then when I realized that camp friends are so special in ways that only people who have them can understand.

My director/ boss used to say that “you can go to camp and have all of these amazing experiences and then try to share them with your friends at home but they won't really understand because they haven't had those experiences and formed those friendships”. As I worked at camp this summer I saw that to be extremely true.

Me and my best friend were inseparable the whole summer did everything together and I consider her a sister. We didn't speak much during the time that we were apart because we didn't need to. So many of our other friends were surprised at that. They asked us how we could be so close and not talk. The truth was that nothing had changed in the time that we had seen each other till when I saw her a few weeks ago. Things were exactly the same.

There is a reason why kids go to summer camp, it's to form bonds and friendships that you can't get anywhere elses. I am still friends with my camp friends today back when I was in middle / high school. Even though we don't see each other much anymore we will always have that shared experience and those amazing summers that we spent at that magical place on the lake.