by Michaela Rollins a long time camper and staff member at GFC. She spent the last four summers working with our Avodah unit, and wanted to share her thoughts about the magic of GFC.
How many slams in an old screen door?
Depends how loud you shut it
How many slices in a bread?
Depends how thin you cut it
How much good inside a day?
Depends how good you live ‘em
How much love inside a friend?
Depends how much you give ‘em.
-Shel Silverstein
The magic of camp is created through actions.
The act of making friends,
The act of building our community,
the act of making a difference,
the act of changing lives.
Many of us grew up as campers here… looking up to our counselors, watching them in wonder and awe, and dreaming of the day that we could grow up to be just like them. They took these actions and created magic for us, making GFC into the special place that we know and love today. And now, as the new generation of staff members at GFC, WE are responsible for taking these actions: For inspiring meaningful relationships, for facilitating connections between each other and with our Jewish identities, for enthusiastically leading by example, and for so much more.
Working with our Counselors in Training over the last four years has given me the incredible opportunity to guide the next generation of staff members on their journey from being the “receivers” of this magic… to learning the lessons about how to take the actions to create it. The lessons that are learned here empower these Jewish young adults to create meaningful experiences, making camp a better place because of what they do while they are here.
The Avodah unit is composed of passionate, enthusiastic, positive role models who are driven to make a difference. These teens, who are about to enter their senior year of high school, arrive to camp at the beginning of the summer as campers. But they transform throughout the summer, growing as individuals through the experiences that they have along the way. For the first time, the dreams that they once had of growing up to be just like the counselors that came before them, of passing on the legacy of the magic of camp, of becoming the wondrous, awe-inspiring role models that they once looked up to, has become a reality.
Generation to generation, we pass on the legacy. Generation to generation, the magic of camp grows. When we experience the magic of camp, there is an overwhelming feeling of belonging, of having a place, a meaning, and a community of support around you. However, when we are given the opportunity to create our own magic, we transcend this feeling of belonging. We come to learn that the magic is created by working together to make belonging matter.
This is my first summer in 18 years that I am spending away from GFC, but I have been lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to return for a week on faculty. And I have realized, that even now, the magic of camp that I created for my campers has continued to grow. With a heart full of love and adoration, I have been able to see the four generations of my past campers create their own magic for their campers… And generation to generation, the magic that they create will live on through their actions…
The act of making friends,
The act of building our community,
the act of making a difference,
the act of changing lives.