During my two years here at Forest Lake Camp the main turning point was last year. I had never been to sleep-away camp before, and I really didn’t know what to expect and what to see. I got out of the car and went to the registration pavilion. There was the amazing Gene and Lilly, who greeted me with open arms (metaphorically, not literally, that would have made me just leave). Okay. That made me feel a little better.

Tennis Tom then came down and greeted me and helped me take my bags up the hill. Okay. That’s fine. Then, that’s when I saw the camp. The circling cabins, the hill office, the tether ball courts and the ping pong tables, the basketball courts, the well, The campers and the counselors walking about and greeting each other like the long-lost friends they all are. That’s when the final feeling that would be the best one of all, the one I would dream of and want all of the rest of the next year, the feeling that I was here – at Forest Lake Camp.

The next two weeks went by like one typical day for me. The main thing that was a highlight for me was archery. I just loved it. It was the best activity for me. I kept signing up and eventually I was the only camper who reached thirty yards! The next week , I would spend trying to hit the further targets. But I also got introduced to boating, which I did with counselors, Max and Nick. We would flip the boats and race across the lake in our kayaks and our canoes. It was so much fun.

When I left last year, it felt like I had just started. I came back this year with the expectation of four weeks and no less. And that’s exactly what I got. I was in Cabin 8 with all my friends and two awesome counselors. Nothing could have been better. All I can take from this experience is that everything you don’t know is not necessarily bad. You can always have fun. As long as you try!           – Eoin O’Mara