Stomping Ground 101 - A Camper's Guide to SG
A few weeks ago I received an email from a camper named Sarah. Sarah is 13 years old, and just spent her first summer at Stomping Ground in our oldest camper village, Pioneer. Sarah and I had talked a few times before she came to Stomping Ground. She had a lot of questions about what to expect, what to pack, and what kinds of activities she would participate in at SG. For this reason, I was not surprised to receive an email from her which included a camper packet she created on her own called “Stomping Ground 101,” which she designed to give to her friends she hopes will join her at camp next summer. It has information on our daily schedule, staff contact information, personal tips, packing guide, AND MORE!
Check out Sarah’s full packet here: Stomping Ground 101
After reading her packet, I decided to call Sarah to let her know I loved the idea, and also that I wanted to write a blog post about it and ask her some more questions about her time at camp.
Sarah says her favorite part about Stomping Ground is getting to know people from around the country who are completely different from her and her friends at home. She was also excited to learn that unlike books and movies she had seen about summer camp, there was not as much drama as she expected! Sarah was a part of a few conflict circles at Stomping Ground, and says something she’s taken with her back home from camp is that it’s better to talk to her friends about her frustrations and feelings, instead of venting to friends behind their backs. Lastly, Sarah said she loved the freedom at Stomping Ground to choose what activities she wanted to do, and who to do them with.
I think Sarah’s packet and thoughts on Stomping Ground are so reflective of the community we work to create; one where our thoughts are valued, and we leave feeling empowered to share them with other communities we are a part of. Sarah, thank you for reminding me of the power camp can have even when we’re not physically there! It is so good to be together!
