Camp Woodland Blog
The Start of Something New…..
“We welcome you to Camp Woodland! We’re mighty glad you’re here! We’ll send the air reverberating with a mighty cheer. We’ll sing you in, we’ll sing you out, to you we’ll raise a mighty shout! Hail! Hail! The gang’s all here. We welcome you to Camp Woodland!”
The day we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived: the first day of camp. Throughout this past year, similar to the last seven leading up to this day, a constant feeling took solace in the bottom of my stomach and remained there from the moment I turned off of the Woodland Road last summer to the moment I turned onto it once again. This blend of nostalgia and eagerness for the summer to come served two functions: to remind me why this quaint paradise pulls me back year after year and to serve as the light at the end of the tunnel after a long year of school.
Although the ten months in between camp sessions filled with classes and homework are extensive, the “camp bug” that resides at the bottom of my stomach always gives me a reason to persevere. No matter how difficult reality may be and how vastly my camp nostalgia may grow, the knowledge that this summer paradise will always await me time and time again provides me with the comfort and confidence I need to focus on the present while maintaining my eagerness for the future. “One month from now, you will be relaxing on the beach next to Sand Lake soaking up the sun and listening to the sounds of the waves crashing onto the shore, endless laughter, and the pleas of all of the girls who beg for double canteen,” I tell myself. And, oddly enough, here I stand once again in the paradise whose mere memory urged me forward these last ten months.
After a long year, we finally reached the end of the tunnel; the long-awaited paradise; the ultimate cure to the “camp bug.” The cabins are open, the horses are waiting, the guns are clean, and the sailboats are wading. We could not be more excited for you all to take this summer to relax, to enjoy, and to thrive. Welcome home, campers!
-Alex K
Treetops Counselor