By Nathaniel Eisen
As a new year approaches, full of resolutions for personal growth and improvement, it is the perfect time to revisit some of the changes our campers and staff made at Ramah during Kayitz 2013 and see how they have applied these changes back home.
Jill Katz, solelim/frolf/duathlon staff: “I learned how to see where I’m needed and go there.”
Asher S., Metayalim: “I learned to push myself harder than what I think I can do.”
Brie Anderson, packout/metayalim staff: “I learned that being a counselor is very, very difficult, but extremely rewarding.”
Aden B., Metayalim: “I learned to make new friends, because I made new friends here at camp.”
Jonas Actor, packout/metayalim staff: “If you set high expectations for others and slowly build up to them, more often than not, people will rise to them, regardless of what level that is…So it’s important to set expectations for yourself and others, and to be able to meet them, to grow yourself, others, and the community.”
Ben K., Solelim: “At the beginning I would just go to the pasta bar, but I learned to value food more and I ate more healthily.”
Elan Keshen, Solelim/Farming Staff: “I learned from the Oncler in the Lorax that overuse of a product or natural resource can cause damage in the long run. [To apply this], I’m not going to overwork myself in the future, I’m going to try to maintain a standard that is equal and balanced and utilizes fairness and equality.”
Sharon B., Bogrim: “I’ve learned to take on every opportunity that life throws at me to see and do everything I can.”
Adam Rosenfeld, Rosh Bogrim “I learned that being the camp director means you get free babysitting, and I plan on becoming a camp director one day.”
Maya E., JOLI: “I learned to be comfortable doing what feels meaningful to me [in Jewish practice]. I don’t have to fit a mold, I don’t have to say I’m orthodox or conservative, just to do what feels right to me.”
Aaron Z., JOLI: “I’ve learned that [leadership] is takes a lot of patience…because if you try to push people or you get mad at people for the way they are, you’re never gonna win…I think it will help me being a leader in different academic things, like the Robotics team, and one day hopefully being a counselor here. “
With a new year ahead, may we all succeed in bringing what we learned this past year, and apply it to make this next opportunity even better.
