Reminiscing My Summers at Hidden Hollow Camp

As I drove silently down the long and winding driveway, reality reemerged as the summer before my senior year began to be written as the past. The long journey back to my real home was occupied by reminiscences of the past two months complimented by the “Camp” playlist curated by the Junior Counselor Crew. In addition to the junior counselors, the campers, staff, and beautiful scenery alike are the reasons why I have spent 10 summers packed into a wooden cabin home to mice, bats, bugs, and where everything, and I mean everything, is damp. It was the last time, for 45 weeks, that I’d be leaving the place, damp clothes included, that has made me who I am today, my second home--Hidden Hollow Camp. When looking back on my life and thinking about

My mom handed me the most anticipated letter of my life--the acceptance letter for my Hidden Hollow application. I had finally become one of the people I looked up to for the preceding eight years: a counselor! It was now my chance to give back to the camp; however, I was unfortunately an inexpressive person, which is not a good attribute to have as a camp counselor. I wondered how on Earth I was going to be as influential to the campers as my counselors were to me. For the first summer as a counselor, the campers enjoyed me, but they were only around nine years old, so it was difficult to create meaningful bonds. I wasn’t the best counselor, I was just average. When the 7 week camping season ended, I was unhappy with my performance. I knew I could do better, and I owed it to Hidden Hollow to be the best I could be--for the kids.

When I returned to Hidden Hollow forty five weeks later, I had strong prospects of creating an experience for the campers as good, if not better, than my own. I was assigned a cabin consisting of 10-12 year olds, an age that entails frequent homesick children. I spent every chance I had with homesick campers, trying anything to make their week enjoyable. I talked with as many kids as I could. I involved myself in activities; such as basketball, foursquare, and cards. At the end of the first week, I realized my hard work paid off. I was chosen by the head staff to be awarded counselor of the week out of 34 worthy candidates. I had finally accomplished what I set out to do--I lived up to my