by Elishai Robinson
When I was eight, I went to a Jewish sleepaway camp in the Poconos, URJ Camp Harlam. It was horrible. I hated my time there, but made a few friends, so I came back the next year. The second summer, I had a bad time again, losing some friends and acting out, mostly due to homesickness, with one memorable incident ending with me being chased across camp by the staff on multiple golf carts when I ran off. After they finally retrieved me from the poison ivy I had run into, I had a long talk with camper care, camp’s therapeutic team, about my behavior. But, even after that, I came back the next year, and the year after that, returning for nine years as a camper, even going to Israel for a month last year on a camp-run trip, accumulating a group of my closest friends along the way. Now, as I write this essay, I am back at Camp Harlam as a part of the Gesher or Counselor-In-Training (CIT) program.
At camp, there was no single event that sparked a change, because going away every summer to camp was that event. For example, this summer, as part of the CIT program leadership training, my ability to work in teams—both as a leader and collaboratively—has grown, which is a skill I have struggled with in the past. I was what some describe as a control freak and would blame other people for all problems in group work, even if I was clearly also in the wrong. I have also learned how to work as a mentor and role model while in loco parentis for younger campers, both having fun with them, and enforcing or reinforcing rules when necessary. Combined with my previous experience teaching kids around the same age at my synagogue, where I teach Wednesday afternoon Hebrew School, I have refined my leadership skills and expanded them through multiple workshops and sheer hands-on experience. I also learned the most valuable skill for anyone: knowing your limits. I learned how to tell my coworkers and bosses when I’m feeling sick, or need a break, while knowing that my breaks have to actually be focused on self-recovery, not just scrolling through the internet or chilling with my friends.
Taking a step back to my time as a camper, I learned valuable life lessons and skills that helped develop my understanding of myself and others. When I was a camper, they renamed the two living spaces from “girls’ camp” and “boys’ camp” to “hillside” and “woodside”, in order to be more inclusive. While I was initially skeptical, I eventually understood that while change may initially feel unnecessary, it still can be positive in the end, and that you won’t know the outcome of change until you try it. Additionally, I learned later that someone is always affected by change, meaning that you shouldn’t assume change is pointless. When it happened, I did not know anyone affected by this change, but I talked to, and am good friends with, someone positively affected by this now and I understand it better. In addition, Camp helped me learn to live with strangers for weeks without getting into a fight or having insurmountable disagreements with them, skills I would not have learned as an only child. Most importantly, I learned independence: everything from waking up on time and setting your own alarm, to smaller tasks like cleaning, folding your laundry, and making sure that your own mental and physical health don’t deteriorate while making sure your campers, friends, and coworkers stay healthy. With all this in mind, my time at camp was the event that caused my personal growth over the years, by giving me the opportunities to learn from my mistakes and push through challenges to find my best self.
About the Author:
Elishai Robinson is a senior at Mt Pleasant High School and waiting on college acceptances. He has participated in volunteering activities such as Joseph’s Pantry and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Congregation Beth Emeth. Elishai Robinson is the son of Rabbi Yair and Dr. Marisa Robinson.
