I can never forget the first day I met Odie.  I was on vacation in Florida, about two months before my first summer at Lindenmere.  Naturally, I was nervous about going to Lindenmere; I didn’t know a single person there.  Odie took time out of his day to meet with my family, and right away I knew I had made the right choice.  That day was almost seven years ago, and since then Lindenmere has made me the person I am today.  From “Ultimate [Frisbee] w/ Odie” every single day during second minor, to Color War, to joking around and making memories with my best friends all across camp, there hasn’t been a single day during the past seven summers where I thought Camp Lindenmere wasn’t the best place on Earth.

The camp slogan, “Then, Now, Always” couldn’t be more true; I still vividly remember my first day, when I was so nervous I could barely speak, and the only thing I could think was, “When am I going home?”  Six weeks later, as my bus left camp and the summer ended, the only thing I could think was. “How long until I’m back?”  Six years after that, after leaving camp as a camper for the final time, I knew I couldn’t say goodbye yet.  So I worked as a counselor last summer, and plan on doing so again this summer.  And for the “Always,” well, they say that you can leave camp but camp will never leave you.  I know I won’t be at Lindenmere forever, but that doesn’t mean Lindenmere won’t be with me forever.  There’s something special about camp friends that makes you hold on to them just that little bit tighter, and I know that, even years from now, my Lindenmere friends won’t be further than a phone call away.