Introduction

Since 2017 I have attended the same all-girl camp in Brevard, North Carolina. A camp that taught me how to live in community, build strong female relationships, be confident in myself even when I am failing, and gave me strong female role models from all around the world. When I first attended Keystone Camp, I went to a school where there were only 7 girls in my whole grade. It was a hostile environment where being better than everyone else was valued over anything and everything. Keystone was my escape, it was a place where I was surrounded by girls supporting girls, ranging from ages of 6-24. Within the 120 acres of land Keystone owns, I found myself, my confidence, and some of my best friends.

The Magic of Keystone

The magic of camp is something nobody can truly explain; it is something that can only be experienced. For two weeks every year I leave behind the struggles and stresses of the real world to live in a tiny cabin with 12 other girls, taking three minute showers, staying up past bedtime telling stories, and creating connections that would not be possible through a phone. You are able to try new things and it isn’t seen as weird or embarrassing to not be able to do things the first or one hundredth time you try. It is just seen as normal. I personally worked on one specific trick in gymnastics for 5 years straight before I did it for the first time, and instead of being made fun of, or discouraged, I had dozens of people applauding me when I finally got it. I was met with unconditional support even when people years younger than me could do the same thing with ease.

A Space for Vulnerability

It is only at camp where you can create a peace with failure, and it is because of that vulnerability found within ourselves and the community that success is seen more often. Unlike at home, nobody is recording when you mess up. The only people that will ever know are the people watching. These are the same people that will laugh it off and help you try again. Nobody is thinking about how many people would see a video if it was posted online or how their friends would react. They are more focused on how much fun they are having or how excited they are to try a new skill in rock climbing. At camp you are given a safe space to love deeply and live largely. To create deep connections and form relationships with people that come from as far away as Australia just to spend 2 weeks with you in the middle of the woods.

Kayaking with Confidence

I still remember the first time I got into a kayak at camp. I was 10 years old and I had to learn how to wet-exit just in case I flipped over. My instructor's name was Liz and I recognized her very well from around camp. Little did I know she would go on to being an incredible role model in my life and one of the main reasons I fell so deeply in love with kayaking. Liz taught me how to wet-exit, paddle, T-rescue, and eventually roll. I went on my first ever white water kayaking trip with her, and 3 years later my first level 3 rapid. Kayaking became my favorite fun fact about myself, the thing I loved to do more than anything else, and the activity I found peace in.

I just recently went on my last ever kayaking trip with Liz, and things like that really put into perspective the reality that some people are in your life to make you into the person you end up being, and that doesn’t mean they were meant to be in your life forever. This is a reality that becomes very familiar at camp, because eventually everyone, both counselors and campers, will celebrate their last year at camp. We will all have our last night singing songs around the campfire, and staying up late laughing and playing cards. Camp is one of those things that is meant to be temporary, but leaves behind lessons, relationships, and skills that will last with you forever.

Summary

I choose to spend two weeks of my summer with a bunch of amazing girls finding themselves, singing songs they have memorized by heart, rock climbing, learning how to sow, or shoot a bow and arrow for the first time. And every year when I return to camp, I will be grateful that I can experience the magic of camp, until the year comes that I will start creating the magic for new generations of campers. Camp is a sacred place created to help you find yourself, a place so unique to itself that even after you outgrow the tiny bunk beds you will always remember falling asleep to the sound of the crickets and the warm safe feeling of being surrounded by love and support.