Camp Vista..My thoughts

As a kid growing up I didn’t have the best and happiest memories associated with camp. My summer after 6th grade my parents wanted my brother and I to branch out a little bit and decided to send us to Camp Vista. They thought it would be a wonderful experience because I came from Poland. I was very excited and nervous at the same time. I was there for a week and all I remember about my experience was the homesickness I felt. What made it worse was there wasn’t a counselor I connected with, and it seemed that really no one wanted to connect with me and talk about my worries. I distinctly remember being allowed to have my flip-phone with me, and calling my mother every night, crying from the girls bathroom. She held strong and did not pick me up much to my dismay. After that, I informed my parents that I would never partake in a summer camp ever again.

Thankfully I was never a stubborn child and my mom talked me into taking an opportunity to join Swift Nature Camp two years later and I would be going away for 6 weeks. With the same butterflies that tagged along to camp Vista, I embarked on the Swift Nature Camp bus and headed off the north woods of Wisconsin. As I stepped off that bus I was immediately greeted by sincerely cheerful and smiling faces. At dinner (which was one of the worst homesick times for me at Vista) I was fully engaged in conversation and questions from staff that wanted to get to know me. That summer I fell in love with Swift Nature Camp. Yes, I missed my family during that first night being away, but throughout the following 6 weeks I never had time to really think about being homesick. I was constantly outside swimming, making crafts, singing songs on my way to riflery, or playing soccer with some of the kids. At Swift, it didn’t matter what you wore or what you looked like. Cabin mates loved you for tagging along to go swimming or helping them find their other Croc on the porch. I came to notice that SNC came with it’s own Swift Magic. I clearly remember coming home that summer, after my 6 weeks at camp, and being homesick for camp. I would have never imagined, after my week at camp Vista, that I would come to love summer camp this much. Last year was my 8th summer working at Swift Nature Camp. Swift is where I grew up. It’s where I learned to be independent, kind, and persistent. It’s where I gained true, lifelong friends. SNC is more than just a summer camp. It’s home. It’s where kids (and staff) come to be themselves.