I love a Camp Friday. Our penultimate full day of camp always feels like one giant celebration that we have been slowly building toward since the moment the buses left Weymouth High on Sunday.

Hi everyone! My name is Aiden Glennon. This year is my 14th year at camp, and my 8th as a staff member. Camp truly is my greatest joy in life and I hope this blog post can help you feel even the tiniest piece of that joy.

First, breakfast. All the campers headed over to the dining hall on a chilly morning and were greeted by pancakes, scrambled eggs, and breakfast sausage. This was my personal favorite breakfast of the week and a tremendous way to get our day started. Morning watch followed with a story stating that the meaning of life was to let your light shine into the darkest places around you.

Our theme of the day was spirit, which lent itself to conversations about our personal beliefs and values, areas in which we aim to grow, and what exactly makes you you. Our small group program encourages all to deepen their relationship with themselves, and everything we’ve all learnt about ourselves this week was a great jumping off point for this open-ended conversation full of self-reflection. Groups also made some time for Animal House Party – a fun and lighthearted game where you blindly guess which of your small group partners made the animal noise you had just heard. If that sounds strange, that’s because it is. Strange but very fun nonetheless.

Lunch today was fish and chips. The Robindel staff say that is a favorite at their camp throughout the summer, but something we haven’t really had since the ham and fish-nugget meals that sporadically appeared back in my years as a camper. I did try a bite, even as someone who doesn’t enjoy seafood. I actually thought it wasn’t so bad, but still wound up at the sandwich making station for a roast beef sandwich.

After an hour or so of spree time where the waterfront was open, we had what feels like the main event of all our afternoon programs- the Color Olympics. All eight color teams competed in small games of trivia, Simon says, knockout, and more before heading to the field for full team games of tug-of-war, dodgeball, and dizzy bat sponge relay. Orchid and Carolina Blue competed in a final relay that culminated on our giant slip-n-slide. In the end, Orchid prevailed! Congratulations to them for the big win!

Our 6th and 7th graders helped lead chapel today and did a tremendous job bringing the energy! Today’s chapel message was actually done by your’s truly. With the help of a bunch of audience participation, I shared that I believe that all the seemingly little things we’ve talked about throughout the week are answers to the grand question of “what makes you you”. I urged everyone to feed their spirit by making time for the things they are passionate about, feeling their feelings deeply, believing in something bigger than themselves, and more.

All our campers showed up dressed to the nines for a family-style dinner of chicken, potatoes, and cauliflower before heading out to the field for the second dance of the week. Our first dance of the week always feels like a way to get everyone excited for our week, which is fun; but our second dance feels more like a celebration of the week we all shared. It makes for a genuinely magic atmosphere and lots of excited dancing. Check out the end of the blog for pictures of each cabin before the dance!

Finally, we returned to the camp fire for vespers. Staff director John Fiander gave our final vespers message of the week, as he typically does. After playing Difference Maker (the unofficial theme song of camp) and even a new song he wrote, he reminisced on a time he was cut from the WHS soccer team as a senior. This served as a reminder that there is a difference between what we do and who we are, and that it is important to remember that when times get tough. He gave this message beneath a breathtaking starry sky, and we even had a meteor shoot by in the middle of it.

I love a Camp Friday, and this one was no different.