Check out a testimonial from a former camper Veronica about why she loves Camp and kept coming back. Veronica wrote this back in 2018, and we felt this was a great opportunity for a throwback Thursday to one of our favorite pieces written by a camper.
In a little over three months, I will arrive at my second home. I’ll get to see the campers that I’ve known for eight years now, and meet new campers that will soon become my friends in the next amazing four weeks.
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| Cabin Hiawatha 2017 |
Every summer I leave my home in Florida (leaving the CRAZY 95 degree heat!!!!!) and head up to Pine River, Minnesota. I’ve been doing this every summer since I was born. I have never spent a summer in a place other than Whitefish, and I wouldn’t ever want to change that. For as long as I can remember, Foley has been in my vocabulary. My mom was one of the first girls to ever attend and I have had countless cousins as campers and counselors. So going to Foley was always sort of like a family reunion, but not just family, it’s also reuniting with the people I made amazing friendships with in the past eight years.
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| Veronica flying high over her paradise. |
Yes, eight years. I’m going into my junior year this fall so this means that 2018 will be my final year as a camper. This brings me nearly to tears looking back at all the amazing memories, friendships, meals, banquets, trips, and everything that makes camp, camp. Over the past eight years, I have spent 30 weeks at camp. That’s a really long time, and many people ask why I would spend all that time at a summer camp when I could be spending time at the beach, traveling, or my favorite “how can you spend that much time without your phone?”
You see, these few weeks at Foley provide me with life skills and experiences you can’t get anywhere else.
You have to learn how to live with 12 other girls, embrace your crazy side, and you get to be the absolute best version of yourself without judgment. I get to make friends with people that have had such a great impact on my life. I find myself at a loss for words when describing how amazing this place is. It is my home away from home, my happy place, and truly is a paradise. You get to forget about the worries of everyday life and just live. Being at camp is like living on cloud 9.
Foley offers so many opportunities for campers that we would never have the opportunity to do, both in regard to activities and friendships. The friendships I have made at Foley are cherished and reminisced upon year-round. Every year is a new adventure, with new friends to be made, new banquet themes, staff, and you have become a year older.
So why do I love to camp? That would take over a day to explain but I’ll shorten it up. It’s all the LIT days, the cabin agreements, the Grand Dance Festivals, the trips to treehouses, CDOs, Friendship Campfires, tater tot hot dishes, canteens, canoe trips, lip syncs, evening programs, free swims, and the most amazing people you will meet.
Knowing that my time as a camper is coming to a close I realize how much camp helped me grow as a person, both inside and outside of camp. Camp Foley is not only a camp but a home. So make it a great day or not… THE CHOICE IS YOURS!