Camp Green Lane 100th Summer Blog Post, August 7th
Tonight’s blog was written by Lauren Seide and Ella Hesney, 2 of our Sigma girls who are spending their last few days at Camp Green Lane as Campers. We hope you enjoy it!
Just like that, there are four days left of our last camper summer in the arches. It feels impossible to put into words this surreal feeling of going from inter girls to greeks, now finding ourselves in our final days of our camper years. We think back to our first day in Hyatt, stepping off the bus with that nervous feeling that every color war song talks about. There are so many unfamiliar voices and faces that, before long, become some of the most important people in our lives and such big parts of our second home.
The friendships we formed instantly and the memories we made have stayed with us through every summer since. Each summer brought new experiences that we cherish in different ways- the first time we cried during color war sing, playing mad libs during rest period, or the quiet laughs we shared during flashlight time when we were supposed to be going to sleep. Looking back now, it’s often those little moments that mean the most.
When we were inter girls, being a greek seemed so far away. We spent our summers looking up to the Greek girls, never realizing we were slowly becoming them ourselves. Summers feel endless while you’re here, yet somehow they’re over in the blink of an eye. Before you know it, the little inter girl you nervously put on the bus is counting down the days until her very last camper summer.
Over the years, camp has helped us grow in ways we never expected. We went from learning how to fold our own laundry as inter girls to serving meals as Greeks. Along the way, we gained confidence, independence, and responsibility. Being a Greek comes with privileges that reflect the trust the adult here place in us- going on trips without counselors by our side, becoming CIT’s (counselors in training), and having late curfew. These experiences have made being a greek so special and given us the best summers of our lives.
Coming into this summer we were nervous that Sigma could never live up to Gamma. But as we approach the end of our sigma summer we can say that although it was very different, this summer was just as amazing in its own way. We planned cabaret, organized the fake breaks, DJ’ed the halloween dance, went caving and white water rafting on the greek trip, and made memories we’ll be talking about for years.
Now, as this summer comes to an end, we’re realizing that so many moments we never thought twice about have quietly become our lasts. Without even knowing it, we took our last walk through juice squad, went down the slide in the lake for a final time, and ate our last chipwich in the canteen as campers. All of these little moments that were once so ordinary will now become times we wish we could get back for just one more time.
As hard as it is to say goodbye, Green Lane will never really be a place we leave behind. It has shaped who we are, given us lifelong friendships, and filled our hearts with memories we’ll carry forever. While our chapter as campers is coming to an end, the lessons, laughter, and love we found between the Arches will stay with us wherever life takes us. And even though this summer has to end, a part of us will always be those little Inter Girls stepping off the bus for the very first time, falling in love with a place that would become our home.