After my last summer working as a camp counselor at Camp Lindenmere, I believed there was no way in which I could ever top the experience. Then I returned this year and completely crushed that belief. This summer not only met my expectations; it topped them by 1,000 times.

I was no longer spending the first few weeks learning the ropes of being a new counselor. Instead, I was focusing on creating stronger ties with my campers and making friendships with people that will last a lifetime.

It wasn’t just the big parts of camp that grabbed my heart; it was getting a friendship bracelet at the end of the day, dancing and singing to our favorite songs during clean up or even laying on the porch talking about nothing late into the night.

I don’t know what I will do if I hear “Call Me Maybe” or “One Thing” another time, but at the same time those are the songs that have the most memories attached to them. Nothing destroys music more than going to camp and yet I still let them play on my iPod.

Being a returning counselor, I also got to see girls grow over the year. I got to be there for the great moments like a first kiss and bad moments like break-ups, but it was mainly being there to listen when they just wanted to talk.

In six weeks, I managed to get closer to people than I thought possible. Camp draws the same type of people. We are from different parts of the world and we have many different types of personalities and talents, but in the end, we are there for the kids and we bonded over that.

You don’t really know someone until you have been there for all of a person’s highest and lowest moments. It makes it possible to accept them for who they are entirely. At camp, you are guaranteed to see those moments.

The most important lesson I learned at camp was that if you have never been to camp, then it’s difficult to understand what happens. If you have, it’s almost impossible to describe. It’s a separate world. It’s a bubble that keeps you away from society and a place you never want to leave once you arrive.

The friendships I made don’t just end with the summer. They continue late into the year even when we have gone months without seeing each others’ faces. These are friendships that took only weeks to grow and yet feel stronger than those I have with people I’ve known for years.

I am most thankful for the existence of Skype and Facebook because without them I might not get through the year.

We became family this summer and now I have memories than will stay in my heart forever.