School has Started - Stay in Touch with Your Camp Friends

Staying in Touch…...All Year Long!

The school year has officially started!  The sunscreen and bathing suits have been replaced with backpacks and school supplies, and campers are back to being students once again. 

The start of the school year is often filled with mixed emotions.  There is the excitement of getting ready to enter a new grade, shop for the items on our back to school supply list, meet new teachers, get reacquainted with school friends, and prepare for the academic and social opportunities the school year has to offer.   But it also can bring a sense of longing for days at camp and the friends we made.  Camp friends are friends for life. They are the friends that know our dreams, our strengths, our shortcomings, and through it all love us unconditionally.  School may signify a time to move on from our summer routine, but we can never move on from our camp friends and the bonds we created. 

So how do we stay in touch with friends that are not part of our day to day interactions, especially when schedules are jam packed with school work and extracurricular activities???

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, we can easily keep in contact with friends around the corner or across the country.  For young people with a cell phone or internet access, it’s as simple as sending a text or email.  There is also Facebook, Skype or video conferencing to catch up on all the happenings of the school year and to reminisce about days at camp.  In addition to seeing friends online, try to plan an actual face to face get together with friends that live nearby, or attend the reunion your camp organizes.  Reunions are a great way to bring summer memories back to life no matter what the season.  For younger campers who may not have an email address or internet access, encourage them to go the “old fashion” route and pick up the phone or write a letter (with an actual stamp on it to be delivered by the postal service).  There is nothing better than hearing a friend’s voice or opening the mailbox and receiving a hand written letter from a friend.   

     

But no matter how you stay in touch, remember to keep close contact with your camp friends until the summer rolls around again.  It will be here before you know it and we can’t wait.

Have a happy and easy start to the school year.