People always ask me why I go back to summer camp every summer.  Initially, I would tell them it was because I wanted to see all of my amazing friends that I grew up with or it was because it was a good way to make some money.   But as my second week of camp comes to a close I’m beginning to realize that my initial reasoning just isn’t true.  Most of my friends from when I was a camper no longer come and the money is pretty irrelevant, I come back to camp because of all the things I learn over the course of my time here.  Even in these past two weeks, I have learned about Ruth and Esther, our limudim topic, or why we read Torah on Mondays and Thursdays.  Now I don’t just learn from our amazing segal (faculty) but I also learn from my incredible staff.  They have taught me what it means to be part of a team, how to creatively plan programs, and how to think on your feet.  Their amazing leadership and ambition are extremely inspiring and I can not wait to see what they accomplish in the next six weeks.  But the people who I learn from the most has to be the chanichim (campers).  They remind me what it means to be goofy and spontaneous, weird and artistic, hilarious and ridiculous.  Most importantly, they inspire me to be the best Rosh eidah (unit head), Madrich (counselor), and person that I can be.  I am thrilled to see what new knowledge I gain over the next two weeks and see what the campers and staff learn as well.  When I was growing up OSRUI really shaped me into the person I am today, and even thirteen years later, it still is teaching me new things every day.

B’shalom

Evan