Hunter Week 2

May The Memories Remain

Have you ever fallen in love with a place? I have. Something about spending the summer among the mosquito-filled forests neath the Pennsylvania sky has completely enchanted me. The smiles, sunsets, 3 am stargazes, and life-changing conversations shared amid those woods control every ounce of my being. The camp gate creates a barrier between the chaos of the real world (as well as the cell reception) and the peaceful woodland. I disconnect for months; it is magnificent. At just two years old, I began my Deer Valley YMCA Camp endeavors (with my family of course) and became known as “Sweet Caroline” along with “Caroliney-Moon.” I have gone every summer since then, and I will do so for the rest of my life. 

Despite being a Pittsburgh YMCA camp, people travel from all over the country to experience the magic of this place. I have been so lucky to have been able to grow up beside the most genuine souls on Earth. I am only there for a few weeks, so the rest of the year is spent eagerly waiting to be reunited with my home. Nevertheless, more memories and stronger relationships have been created within that short time than have been with people who I live three minutes from.

Every day, I long to hear tone-deaf campers join together to sing all seven minutes of “Hotel California." I long to sit on the dock with my best friends, Molly and Jenna, as we watch Mother Earth gracefully paint on her canvas with various pinks, blues, and oranges. I long to get caught in a thunderstorm miles away from any escape, and then begin to slow dance in the rain with my sweet Jeremy. My dreamlike experiences feel as if they have been drawn straight from a movie. 

I carry this collection of perfect moments everywhere I go with hopes that I can spread the unconditional kindness and gentleness camp has given me. Last summer, our hugs became virtual and our deep conversations became handwritten letters. “Sweet Caroline," they call me, and “Sweet Caroline” they now sing through facetime. Regardless, the memories remain. I wish you too can find a haven that is as centered in love as I have.

I leave you with lyrics from the camp song: “Many years and miles may come between us, but there's a memory of the time that never ends. As the days drift slowly by, below the Pennsylvania sky, I’m singing at Deer Valley with my friends.”

A photo in front of the lake with Molly and Jenna, my soulmates
and fellow sunset chasers. <3

Wonderful friends on the last night of

camp (before we began to sob).

My 3-year-old self eating Cheerios on the dock!