Taking a risk and ignoring your comfort zones is never easy. However, the moments when an individual takes a leap of faith and tries something new are the instances when something great can occur. One of the first major risks that I took was when I was eight years old. As a little girl, my nervous parents sent both my sister and I off to an all girls sleep away camp called Matoaka, in Maine. As I walked onto a large coach bus in 2007, I was scared and anxious, to say the least. I was unaware what camp would be like, who I would meet, and what I would do. However that summer, much to my surprise, I instantly created incredible friendships.

Located within forests of lush trees, Matoaka sits on a thousands acres of healthy property, and is surrounded by an enormous fresh water lake. It is equipped with state of the art facilities as well as a copious amount of sport centers. Rows of pink bunks line the perimeter and serve as homes for the eager campers for the duration of summer. One glance was all it took to make me realize how beautiful Matoaka was. Though besides its beauty, I was taught a variety of skills my first summer here such as barefoot skiing, rock climbing, shooting an arrow, doing a flip, sailing and even wakeboarding. There is no other place I could have imagined spending my summers, so after my first summer here, I decided I would return.

For the following eight years, I continued to return to the little bubble that I called home. As summer approached each year, I became eager realizing that camp was just right around the corner. Excited for what was to come, I would board that same coach bus and begin my journey. However, eight summers later, as I anticipated the imminent summer, a new feeling clouded my excitement. Although I was ecstatic beyond belief, I knew that this summer would be different. Being that I was fifteen, the oldest age group at camp, this summer would be my last. 
Nevertheless, when I began my eighth and final summer at Matoaka, all my worries and sadness faded as I finally reached camp. For the following seven weeks, I experienced a summer unlike any that I had ever before. Everything seemed greater, improved, nicer and more exhilarating. I created unique friendships; was given new opportunities and made countless memories, all of which have changed me completely. I even was privileged enough to lead a group of 80 girls throughout the summer in a daily competition called “college league”. As captain, I lead these girls through weekly games, competitive events and a camp song festival. Being the captain of these girls was thrilling, and winning the entire competition by the end of the summer was indescribable.
That summer time rapidly sped by, and I tried my best to hold onto each minute for as long as I could. I captured moments with my Polaroid as well as a regular camera, and recorded significant events that I never wanted to forget, in a journal. Though as I had imagined it would, the summer flew by and before I knew it, it was my last night at Camp Matoaka.

When the last night dawned, it finally hit me that no longer would I be able to return the following summer. With this distant fear now a reality, I spent the last night as best as I could have. Sleeping was not an option, and instead, I made the most of the following hours that I had left at this exceptional place. Being that it is a tradition for the oldest campers to parade the camp all night, I made sure to live up to the legacy.

After hours spent with my closest friends enjoying the last moments of our special camp, I sat with eighty of my summer sisters on the edge of the lake dock and watched as the glowing yellow sun filled the sky. Despite the fact that none of us had slept a wink that night, it was a moment that I wished could have lasted forever. As the last few hues of oranges, pinks and reds filled the once dark sky; I knew what was about to occur. Slowly, each one of us rose from the safeness of our summer home, and walked away to say our final goodbyes. As I boarded the large coach bus later that morning, and left the familiar place I loved so much, I felt empty and broken.

Now ten months later as this summer quickly approaches, a wretched feeling floods my body knowing that I will now no longer be able to return to the familiar place that I once called home. This summer instead of boarding a coach bus, I will be boarding a non-stop flight to Thailand where I will be spending five weeks building schools, exploring jungles, teaching English, learning to scuba dive and caring for elephants. Unsure and nervous yet again, I will be taking a risk just as I did eight long years ago. However it was because of this risk that I was privileged enough to experience the incredible summers that I did. Attending camp taught me that with change comes new beginnings, and although it may be challenging, I am immensely eager to begin my new journey eight thousand five hundred and fifty six miles away.