By Gabi Schneider, Director of Communications

My first summer at GUCI was in second year Gezah in 2005. Outside of camp, 7th and 8th grade was a strange time in my life. I was constantly making new friends, trying to figure out where I belonged, and was at the point where I started thinking about Judaism on a deeper level (it was Bat Mitzvah time, so it was always on the brain). If I’m being perfectly honest, I was just an awkward middle school kid. But I never felt like it at camp. There was something special, something different; attending GUCI at the time I did was a game changer. My first summer at GUCI made me feel like I wasn’t in middle school.

After spending most of the morning with Gezah, it’s apparent that the same affect GUCI had on me during a strange life stage is still positively impacting campers. I was impressed with what I saw happen at Drama Nosaf (additional choice activity) today. It all started with an improvisation game, on the bus. In the game there are three people on a bus. One person’s job is to make the other two on the bus feel as uncomfortable as possible (without touching of course) in order to make them leave the bus. I was shocked by how long everyone stayed on the bus before feeling uncomfortable and leaving. And that’s when it clicked. In middle school the only place I wouldn’t have felt uncomfortable in this activity would have been at GUCI. This place has a way of making you feel comfortable no matter the situation. These campers weren’t uncomfortable because they have a high tolerance for weird situations. They stayed on the bus because regardless of how absurd, goofy or even creepy the person on the bus was they still felt comfortable.

Everyone these campers spend time with is going through the same life changes, making the “awkward” feeling irrelevant. No, camp does not make all the awkwardness and uncomfortable conversations that happen at this age disappear, but it does make it easier. At camp you’re surrounded 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by others in the same life stage. You live with them, eat with them, talk with them. It helps to know that someone else is going through similar things in their lives at the same time. And because of how close you become with those people, you start to truly embrace who you are and feel comfortable even in the most uncomfortable situations.

It makes me proud to say I’m the product of GUCI when I see that the magic is still shining through and supporting campers 10 years later.