2019 Week 6 Newsletter

Oh Hi!

There are certain words, phrases, or lyrics that bring powerful memories into focus. Any camp that has COLOR WAR has their own traditions and histories, rules and regulations. At Black Bear Lake, Color War is one of, if not the best parts of the summer. For 4 days our campers and counselors pour their hearts onto the fields, courts, waterfront, stage and everything else to gain valuable points for their team. Each camper and every counselor has an impact. They scream and cheer, paint their face in green or white, and compete at the highest levels.

But every game, activity, and cheer leads up to Sing on the last day. I recently saw a documentary that had some pretty profound thoughts about how people form and maintain deep friendships. In it, country singer Trey Hirsch was interviewed, and he bemoaned how much harder it is to make new and close friendships later in life. His analysis was that this was due to two important factors: how little quality time most adults get to spend with new people, and how few opportunities there are to truly let yourself be vulnerable with one another once you reach a certain age. This was playing through my head during Color War Sing yesterday. As I watched Green and White come together to sing, perform our sacred rituals, and discuss what it means to be a part of a sisterhood or brotherhood, it made me realize how right Trey was. It’s really part of the secret to what makes people so passionate about this experience.

Over the course of our 8 week experience we have the good fortune to spend incredible amounts of time with each other, and during those 8 weeks, we have daily opportunities to connect on an emotional level that just doesn’t happen very often in life. We don’t just form friendships at Black Bear Lake: we create intense relationships with people who become more like brothers or sisters.

Yours in camping,

Ian