How New Year’s Resembles the End of a Summer at Camp in Maine

The New Year is always a special holiday and time of year. And though this particular celebration may come in the dead of winter, in many ways the New Year resembles the end of camp in Maine each summer. So what are these similarities? Here are just some of the ways in which the end of the year mirrors the end of a summer at camp. A Time to Reflect One highlight of the New Year is that it provides an opportunity to reflect on and process the year gone by. We think about the things that we enjoyed, the things we want to build on, as well as the ways we want to grow going forward.  In this same way, the end of summer provides an opportunity to reflect on the summer gone by, and to consider how we can grow and what we want to bring to camp when we return next year. Tired but Energized New Year’s Eve is not traditionally known as a night for deep sleeping. Oftentimes this is a night of celebrating – and of course it is customary to stay up until midnight (for those who have the stamina!). However, despite the fact that we may be a little tired on New Year’s Day, the holiday is energizing in it’s own way and that energy helps to carry us through the beginning of the next year. Similarly, on the last night of camp, many campers stay up late because they want to get in every last moment of bonding and hanging with their camp friends.  It’s the last time for fun together during the current camp summer - celebrating summer’s best moments and creating final lasting memories.  These experiences and energy help propel many Maine camp Experience (MCE) campers into the school year (and that first night’s deep sleep back at home also helps!).   Back to Reality   One of the great parts about the holidays is that they mean a vacation from school and/or work. New Year’s Day tends to come toward the end of this break, and this holiday oftentimes provides the bookend to vacation time. This means that, amidst all of the New Year’s festivities, this holiday also symbolizes an end to vacation and a return to daily life. The end of camp can also have similar connotations. Camp is such a unique and removed time in the lives of campers – whether you’re attending for two weeks or seven, there really is no other place like camp.  And as a result, the end of a summer oftentimes means a return to home life.  Whether it’s back to school, or simply back home for the rest of summer, saying goodbye to camp often times means saying goodbye to that unique respite until next year.   The Culminating Event The end of camp and the end of the year have one more interesting commonality – they both culminate in specific events. In the case of New Year’s, the ball drop is the most famous of these events – we count down the final seconds until midnight and celebrate as the ball drops to symbolize the start of a new year. In this same way, the departure of the buses truly symbolizes the close of camp. At the camp I work at, all buses (and vans to the airport) tend to leave within an hour or so of each other. Campers build up to their goodbyes, and board the bus homeward – and in the blink of an eye, another summer has ended and we’re looking forward to another summer together next year — Maine Camp Experience Resources & Tools

You can share your own Maine camps memories & expressions of gratitude on our Memories of Camp section of our  website.

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