Camp Life is Beautiful

I was lucky enough to take a walk to our camp's western border at sunset the other night. You could see Lake Michigan stretching out beyond the dune, the sky painted in oranges and pinks, with my dog Naya trotting happily alongside me. These are the moments at camp that fill your heart in a way that's hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it.

I work in the office at camp, so I don't spend as much time with campers as our counselors do. But at meals, I get to ask campers how their days are going, what their best moment was, or what they're looking forward to that evening.

Last summer I asked a first-year camper how she was liking it, and her face lit up. She said she absolutely loved her counselors. Another camper at the table was staying for a second session — a sweet, quiet kid who just felt at home at camp. He was about to start at a new school in the fall, and I could tell he might be carrying some nerves about not fitting in. But at camp? He was free to be himself. He was accepted. He was happy.

That's the thing about camp. It creates space for people to connect, to feel seen, and to belong — and that goes for the staff just as much as the campers.

Working at camp allows all of us to make a difference, even those of us whose day-to-day work involves invoices and spreadsheets more than canoes and campfires. And then, at the end of the day, you walk outside and see a sunset like that one, hear the constant song of birds, and remember why you chose this.

Camp is a real career for some and a powerful resume builder for others. But for everyone who's been part of it, camp is something beautiful.

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