Yesterday was Independence Day. That’s right… July 3rd! To line up with the Village of Lake Nebagamon’s fireworks display, we chose to move all of our festivities a day early this year.
Independence Day is always a highlight of the summer. What’s not to love? We pack the day with excitement, and even have apple pie and ice cream for breakfast! One of my favorite features of our celebration is the annual flag raising ceremony. After raising the flag, we always hear from a member of our camp family who shares with all of us what Independence Day means to them.
Our speaker yesterday described the interplay between independence and community. How cool is it that we have SO MUCH independence at camp? We make choices about activities every day, we decide what trips we go on, we have ample periods of unstructured free time. And yet, while we emphasize individual independence, we prioritize community and working together at the same time. One of our goals at Nebagamon is that when campers leave at the end of the summer, they can confidently make choices for themselves that also help others.
A few nights ago just after taps, strolling up the Hill towards the Big House, I witnessed that interplay on display. Walking past a fifth grade cabin, I heard what sounded like an argument between campers. Their counselor had left the cabin briefly and in the interim, conflict arose. Before intervening, I stood outside, listening for a moment to get a sense of what was going on.
“You’re so annoying!” one camper exclaimed.
“You sat on my bunk without asking! How am I the annoying one?” questioned another.
The two went back and forth a bit before a third voice entered the fray.
“Hey guys…” the third camper quietly remarked through the bickering. The argument continued and the third voice chimed in again, still softly but with a greater sense of urgency:
“Guys…”
The two in conflict halted their spat, turning their attention to their cabinmate who continued with a soft confidence:
“Sometimes when we live so closely together, we’re going to get annoyed with each other. If someone’s really bothering you, just ignore them for the moment and then work it out with them later. It’s not worth getting into arguments like this,” he advised. “We’re all going to get frustrated with people outside of camp too and we’re going to need to learn how to deal with it.”
This was a fifth grader… I promise this really happened.
In a brief, counselorless moment, when he had no idea the camp director was standing right outside the thin walls of his cabin, that camper used his independent decision-making skills, the skills we promote on a daily basis at camp, to help his friends.
Yesterday, on Independence Day, we celebrated! We celebrated with apple pie and ice cream for breakfast and an epic game of “capture the bug juice” in the afternoon. We celebrated with a picture perfect G-Swim and the annual junior counselor vs. senior counselor softball game (featuring hot dogs, popcorn, “walking tacos” and, you guessed it, more ice cream!). While an evening thunderstorm postponed the fireworks display, we were all fulfilled nonetheless. It had been a classic Nebagamon Independence Day, celebrating– in addition to the national holiday– Nebagamon’s unique strain of independence. The kind of independence grounded in a belief that children are capable of incredible things when given the autonomy, space, and support, to make decisions for themselves in a community built on principles like caring for each other. The kind of independence that empowers a fifth grader to act with profound maturity for the sake of his friends.
Happy Fourth of July from all of us here at Camp Nebagamon where we celebrate Independence Day on July 3rd… and every day.
All is well in the Northwoods.