Two nights ago, before venturing up to the basketball courts for a surprise staff event, I sat in my cabin in the temporarily quiet village of Onondaga with my co-counselor. The two of us were enjoying some down time and took the opportunity to try and learn a song on my new ukulele. We thought that being able to play a few songs that the girls might enjoy would be a nice way to end our night in the cabin, along with bedtime activities like sharing our highs and lows of the day.
As I was struggling to master "Better Together" by Jack Johnson, another counselor in the village came in to see what we were up to and asked if what she was hearing outside was a ukulele. This particular counselor is rather quiet at times, new to camp, and Israeli, so I was excited that she joined us to hang out and listen to me play a tragic rendition of Jack Johnson's happy tune. I began to practice and offered if she would like to play, not knowing whether she has touched an instrument in her life or not. She gently took the ukulele from my hands, flashed a 100 watt smile, and began to absolutely ROCK that ukulele. Switching from song to song with great skill, this counselor played with a certain joy that was incredibly infectious. After a few days of getting to know her, I thought she would have brought up that she plays! In true camp spirit, I watched my fellow staff member light up a room, share the music she loved, and get my co-counselor and I so excited that we were a minute late to round up (whoops! That won't happen with the campers, I promise!)
Discovering a hidden talent of a fellow counselor reminds me that in a short 4 days, I will begin to discover the personalities, interests, and inevitable hidden talents of the Onondaga campers and I could not be more excited! Being yourself, discovering strengths, and developing skills and talents are a few of the tangible and intangible aspects that campers gain while at camp and, as a counselor here at CSL; I am fortunate enough to be an actor in the magic that is Camp Seneca Lake.
As I was struggling to master "Better Together" by Jack Johnson, another counselor in the village came in to see what we were up to and asked if what she was hearing outside was a ukulele. This particular counselor is rather quiet at times, new to camp, and Israeli, so I was excited that she joined us to hang out and listen to me play a tragic rendition of Jack Johnson's happy tune. I began to practice and offered if she would like to play, not knowing whether she has touched an instrument in her life or not. She gently took the ukulele from my hands, flashed a 100 watt smile, and began to absolutely ROCK that ukulele. Switching from song to song with great skill, this counselor played with a certain joy that was incredibly infectious. After a few days of getting to know her, I thought she would have brought up that she plays! In true camp spirit, I watched my fellow staff member light up a room, share the music she loved, and get my co-counselor and I so excited that we were a minute late to round up (whoops! That won't happen with the campers, I promise!)
Discovering a hidden talent of a fellow counselor reminds me that in a short 4 days, I will begin to discover the personalities, interests, and inevitable hidden talents of the Onondaga campers and I could not be more excited! Being yourself, discovering strengths, and developing skills and talents are a few of the tangible and intangible aspects that campers gain while at camp and, as a counselor here at CSL; I am fortunate enough to be an actor in the magic that is Camp Seneca Lake.
Sydney Zuckerman
Onondaga counselor
