For the past four years, I have been spending at least a week of June or July in Clayton, Georgia, at Camp High Harbour. My older sister, Mary Cason Sherwood, attended this camp for a few summers and always told fun stories about it to me.

Camp High Harbor is on Lake Burton and has a beautiful view. Lake Burton is also the home of Nick Saban’s 11 million dollar lake house. Camp High Harbour is a branch of the YMCA camps. The cabins are filled with bunk beds, some cabins even have triple bunk beds. Sleeping on the middle bed of the triple bunks was my least favorite, because I could never sit up without hitting my head. Camp has a chapel, brand new cafeteria, and a place called the colosseum. The colosseum is a huge covered area where all the campers and counselors meet in the morning and at night to sing, dance, and listen to devotions. The colosseum is my favorite place at camp because it’s where everyone lets loose and just sings their favorite songs.

When I was younger I would always beg to go to camp and finally the summer before going into the sixth grade my parents finally said, “yes.’’

By this time my sister was no longer attending camp,  so I would be going by myself. I was very excited, but also nervous to be going alone. Right after being dropped off at camp I was welcomed and fell in love with the place. Camp now has become a second home to me and most of my favorite memories are from there.

I have built very strong connections with other campers there, and they have become some of my best friends. At camp I have also built a stronger connection with God. At Camp High Harbour, we not only sing and dance to cool, popular music, but also to Christian songs. During these times when everyone is singing songs like “God’s Not Dead” by The Newsboys, or “I Can Only Imagine” by MercyMe I feel the closest to God.

The counselors at camp are high school and college students, and they all give devotions to their cabins at some point. Learning about my counselor’s experiences and lessons have helped me grow into the person I am today.

Since I have learned so much from my past counselors, I want to be able to do the same for others. So this is why I am trying to become a counselor at Camp High Harbour.

Becoming a counselor is a much longer process than expected. First you need to become an LIT (Leader In Training) the summer going into your sophomore year. Although LIT year isn’t a paid counselor position, it must be completed to continue. Whether you are applying for an LIT position or a counselor you must be interviewed in the fall on a camp retreat. This past November, I went back to camp for my LIT Interview. I found out I got accepted in January, and have never been more excited.

In late June, I will leave for camp for three weeks, where I will be placed in different age groups cabins, and help kids have the best summer ever.

I can not wait to go back to my second home and see all of my  friends, and hopefully make new ones.