Hello dear readers…
This is the first post, in what I hope to be a spectacular addition to our beloved Camp Blog.
The “Guest Blogger”.
This idea is probably just as old as the concept of blogging itself… which actually isn’t very old. The concept of blogging began in the late 1990’s and has grown to an estimated 156 million blogs in existence today. Professional writers and dedicated bloggers would take turns posting entries on each others blogs in an effort to share new ideas and stories with new audiences… and potentially attract new readers to their own work.
The concept here is similar… although we’re not trying to drive you to read anyone elses blog… just offering an opportunity for Alumni, Members, Campers and Staff to share some of their amazing stories here for all of us to read.
So without further ado, allow me to introduce you to… Kelli Strieby.
Kelli worked at our Day Camp for 3 summers… one as a counselor and two as a Village Chief. She also worked for some time in our Conference programs after graduating from BU. Kelli works in the publishing industry up in Boston (which is why I thought she would make an excellent candidate for a “Guest Blogger”). Kelli does keep her own blog and her style and content is truly inspiring to me as an amateur writer.
Kelli’s favorite time of day is twilight and she thinks the Chrysler building is one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Kelli’s favorite painting is Andrew Wyeth’s “Christina’s World” and her favorite Camp song to sing out loud is a tie between “The Princess Pat” & “My Old Man”.
Now that we know a little bit about Kelli lets hear what story she has to share with us…
“I remember the staff orientation like it was yesterday. We sat crowded together on a dining hall bench in the Matolly dining hall, waiting for the Camp Director to address our group. It was our first day of orientation. As Counselors and Village Chiefs, we were slowly getting to know one another; opening ourselves up to the people we’d be spending so many of our waking hours with over the summer. We quieted down when the Director entered. He introduced himself, welcomed us all to Camp. As he spoke, he told us that he believes there’s something magical that happens once you have made it about thirty feet onto Camp property. Once you turn onto the dirt road, the traffic from the outside world disappears. Slowly, the sounds of the woods become more audible and the outside world falls away. You have arrived at a place unlike anywhere else. You are at Camp.
I have thought of his words often since I sat at that orientation so many years ago. Since my days as a Camp Counselor, and later a Village Chief and then a year-round staff member life has taken me in several different directions. I’ve called London, New York, and Boston all home at some point; I’ve moved through different jobs and positions while building a career. Through it all though, Camp Ockanickon has never left my heart.
I have carried the friendships that started at Camp to London. Determined to find a way to spend some time living abroad after college I moved to London and lived with three flatmates, all of whom I met working at Camp. Lessons learned on the Challenge Course helped me achieve a lifelong goal of living and working in New York City. At 25, I moved away from a job, my friends, a community I’d come to know and took myself to New York. I barely knew a soul and had no job lined up. There were moments I worried and panicked that I’d made the worst decision of my life. But then, I’d think back to my days on the Challenge Course. I reminded myself if I could successfully navigate those Challenges? I could do it. I could handle New York. I could handle my fears and doubts. Thinking back on those Camp memories often reminded me about one of the most important things I learned out there among the pines trees. Don’t doubt yourself, because you can do it. Never, ever, ever, give up.
I continue to carry the four core YMCA values of Caring, Honesty, Respect, and Responsibility throughout my daily life, now in Boston. I work diligently at my job; I take care of my friends and family to the best of my ability. If I say I’m going to do something, I do it. Along with a supportive group of family and friends, I know I have Camp Ockanickon to thank for instilling such important, solid values in my life.
There truly is something magical about Camp Ockanickon. I fell in love the minute I showed up at staff orientation and have never looked back. In a world filled with a million different technological gadgets and updates at every turn, it has always been so refreshing and comforting to know a spot like Camp exists. It’s a place where we can be ourselves, where we learn something every day, where people accept each other just the way they are, and where dirt is worn as a badge of pride. Despite the miles between my current home and Camp, there is rarely a day that goes by that I don’t think of my beloved Camp Ockanickon. I miss it daily. I find myself thinking of the experiences I had there and the life lessons learned, often. I take comfort in the fact that even though my life has moved me beyond those beautiful, stunning, wooded acres in the Pinelands; Camp Ockanickon will never be far from my heart or mind.”
By Kelli Strieby
Thanks you for sharing that wonderful entry with us Kelli.
Be good…
Chef Jason