Thank you Bliss Rose for your beautiful submission. You always added so much to camp with your positivity and you truly embody the Birch Hill spirit.
On my first day at Camp Birch hill, I was nervous, twelve, and filled with excitement. As we drove up the dirt road into camp, we were greeted with the loud enthusiasm of celebration: pots and pans banging, people yelling, dogs barking. It was the most chaotic welcome I have ever encountered. For some wild reason, the smiling faces of strangers instantly felt like home. I knew from that entrance that I was in for something bigger than I could have ever expected, and even that is an understatement. To me, Birch Hill can only be described as truly magical. Being a camper has made me who I am today by giving me the confidence to reach beyond my comfort zone and be my true self. For that, I am incredibly grateful. Through my 4 years as a camper, Birch Hill has been my sanctuary for confidence, enthusiasm, and positive encouragement, and I could not imagine my life without it.
Being a camper and later a CIT has taught me leadership skills that have been the foundation of numerous successes in my life. Camp taught me the power of a smile, and about lifelong friendships that start in the craziest ways. I’ve learned how to get along with people who I may not like at first, and I nearly always ended up finding whole-hearted friendship in unexpected places. From giggling until midnight to paddle-boarding with dragonflies dancing around my head, I have spent the happiest moments of my life in that precious zipcode of 03855. I have found that summer camp begins as a place to go for fun in the summer, but my time at camp has taught me more than just how to sail, the rules of ultimate frisbee, or how to throw pottery. I learned every day something new that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to learn anywhere else; like the art of creating intricate secret handshakes, or how to spot constellations in the summer night sky. I have made connections with counselors who have extended to me priceless lessons; maybe without even knowing they did. These people have not only taught me about respect, confidence, and leadership, but have acted as the older siblings that I never had.
Every sweet memory pulls me back to the overflowing green soccer fields and the 12 towering pine trees of cove. I could probably talk forever about all the specifics that make camp so special, and it will always hold a large piece in my heart. Nothing in my life will compare to the feeling of running up the hill for dinner, drinking gulps of laughter, elbows locked with four of my best friends. I have seen myself grow up at camp: from a shy twelve-year-old in cabin D into the outspoken, excited kid who found out more about herself on a hill in the-middle-of-nowhere New Hampshire than she ever had in a classroom. So many of my best memories bring me back to the magical summers that I spent as a camper. There is no way to thoroughly express my gratitude to the perfectly imperfect community that is Camp Birch Hill, but I will leave it at this: My Life Is Birch Hill (MLIBH).
Yahoo!
Submitted by Bliss Rose (camper 2009-2012)