Second session camper, Michelle Kaplin, recently wrote a blog in her local paper Entitled, “An All Girls Camp……Disaster or Delightful? One Girl Spills the Truth. I thought it was a very nice article and wanted to share it with the rest of our camp family. Here it is.

Every summer I go to an all girl’s camp in Northern Wisconsin. Not only is my summer camp for girls but it’s for unity, the strength to be courageous, and most importantly sisiterhood. The average person probably doesn’t understand why we camp girls get so excited every summer. They think to themselves, “who cares if Blue Team or White Team wins? It’s just a color.” Or even the classic “Why would you want to spend 4-8 weeks of your summer six and a half hours away from home?”

Well to all of you non-campers, those 4-8 weeks of our summer means more to us then just learning to ski around the lake or making a pretty necklace in Arts and crafts. Yes, those activities are important, but the real reason we go to camp is for the thrill of knowing that we are truly loved and cared for no matter who were are. At camp you’re allowed to join archery even if you can’t aim like Katniss Everdeen. No matter what age, race, or personality, every single girl is cared about and loved unconditionally.

My parents absolutely love that I go to camp. They love that I’m free to be whoever I want to be and I’m in an environment that I will be accepted no matter what.  My mom loves that I can be a dancer, or a skier, or even a gymnast at camp.  Although my dad loves these things too.  I think he also loves that there are no boys at camp.  Because there are no boys, the pressure to change who we are to impress the boys has been lifted off our shoulders.  We don’t feel the need to wear makeup or act a certain way.  We feel beautiful in our skin because at camp we are loved for our pure and true self.

A lot of people believe that if you put a large group of girls together you get judgment and drama.  People think that the camp must be filled with tears and constant nastiness.  It must be something in the air at camp, but our group of girls breaks that stereotype in so many ways.  We only have a short amount of time to be together so why waste it judging and criticizing other girls? Girls are also “known” to be insecure and uncomfortable with themselves.  But being camp girls helps change all that.  At camp I feel more comfortable about myself then anytime at school.  Yes, at home I do have an amazing support team to tell me I’m awesome and I can be any one I want, but I know there will always be someone to judge and bring me down outside of my family.  At camp we don’t need people to remind us how great we are, we know we can be ourselves because no one wants us to be anything different.

In 8 short weeks an unbreakable bond is created among campers and counselors.  This bond has made it so we aren’t just friends, we’re sisters.  I know that when I’m at camp I have over 300 sisters I can rely on.  We believe that there is an unspoken pact between us to never judge or criticize another girl’s actions.  This pact has made our bonds so strong that not only are we sisters for those 8 weeks, but we’re sisters for life.  Each summer we are drawn back to camp to experience the feeling of being emotionally safe, to try new things, and to be brave.  We love to know that after spending all night fighting to win the color war, we can return back to the cabin to laugh, cry and tell secrets with one another because the simplest thing about camp is that we love each other.

By:  Michelle Kaplin

After a session of fun programming, our Agawak dollars has come to a close for first session. Girls worked hard to earn as many dollars through games, cabin participation and more! The girls all were given a sheet that had Agawak dollar prizes on it and they were able to win a prize based on the amount of Agawak dollars they had. Some cabins got an extra tube ride during rest period; others made s’mores at the campfire and went on a boat ride to the “jumping tree.” After rest period, some cabins have gone to Briq’s for an ice-cream treat and at night, some girls have had a pizza and movie party in Happy Camper Hall. By Friday, all campers will have had their auction prizes.  Be sure to ask your child what her cabin won!

It has been a very busy day at Agawak. Tonight Happy Camper Hall was rocking as our annual Blue and White Teams each performed 10 back to back lip-syncs.  My ears are still buzzing from the music and screaming. I am convinced I will need hearing aids sooner as opposed to later. The power and force of 250 plus girls screaming at the top of their lungs for two consecutive hours is not something too many people get to witness in their lifetime.  No wonder my ears are still ringing.

Please remember all first session campers returning home via the bus will arrive around 2:30pm at Deerfield High School this Friday. Please make sure to check under the buses for personal items your daughter may have placed there upon departure from camp. It’s easy to get caught up in all the excitement and forget personal belongings. 

On Sunday, July 15th, all second session campers taking the bus to camp will board the buses at 8:00am from Deerfield High School. We will depart promptly at 8:30am. Please make sure you pack a lunch for the trip up to camp. We have several campers with allergies to nuts so please plan accordingly.

This camp director is tired and exhausted. I wish I had the energy of my campers. I’m off to bed for hopefully a good night’s sleep.

Mary & Staff