What Camp Means to Me
By Colleen Murray-Seig
As a woman of a certain age, I have been given the gift of being able to see camp from several different vantage points. As a camper, I remember the anticipation of getting up to camp, the one place where I could truly be myself. Camp taught me a love of nature, a curiosity about the world around me and the ability to interact with people who are different from me. It helped me to see life through different eyes and respect people’s view even if it’s different than mine. The friends I made are still to this day some of the nearest and dearest in my life. Getting letters, (yes I’m that old) during the school year kept camp alive when I was home. We used to say that we had two kinds of friends, your home and neighborhood friends and your camp friends and your camp friends are the best friends. I have run into camp friends everywhere I go. To the point where when I was in my 20’s and 30’s if I ran into someone who looked familiar I would always ask them if they’ve ever been to camp in Blairstown. (When I went to camp it had a Blairstown mailing address.)
Colleen at Work Weekend, second from the right.
As a counselor, I got to see how much things change and yet they stay the same. I had the older girls and they would try and pull some of the same antics I did as a camper, although they had a much harder time getting away with it. I watched how girls who were introverted and shy, blossomed when people understand and support you and your choices.
Spot Colleen, second row from the bottom, 5th one in on the right
As the parent of a camper, I got to relive the feeling of joy and wonder as I watched my kids find the joy and magic that is Mason. They learned the spirit of the 4 principles, which they both carry with them to this day.
Finally, as an alumnus, I found a whole new group of camp friends. Coming to the reunion weekends have introduced me to other generations of people who grew up coming here and having their time coming here. It’s great to hear their stories and how their time impacted them. Even though we come from different generations and walks of life we still have our love for camp in common, I am proud to say that through alumni weekends I have made some very good friends, proving it’s still true. Camp friends are the best friends.
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