Skylake = Magic

If I had to pinpoint the moment when the travel bug bit me, I would say it was during the summer of 2006 when I was working at Skylake Yosemite Camp.  

Looking back on it, I happened upon Skylake by pure luck.  It was the spring of my freshmen year, and I was trying to figure out what to do with my summer months; I didn't know what I wanted to do, but I knew there was no way I was going back home to Pennsylvania.  I decided I wanted to get paid to travel--after all, the last thing you want to do is have to pay rent when you go somewhere...how will you make any profit?  I started looking into camps because I thought it would be fun, plus there was free room and board and a gorgeous backdrop.  I asked my RA, Sam, if she had any suggestions; Sam recommended Skylake because one of her classmates worked there and loved it.  So, I e-mailed this girl (who shall remain nameless because she turned out to be one of my least favorite people at camp that summer!), got some more information, applied, interviewed with Jon, and before I knew it, was Bass-Lake-bound in June.  

Then I had the most amazing summer of my life.  Absolutely indescribable.  The people.  The children.  The place.  The experience taught me so much about myself, about what I want from myself, and what I want for my life.  I still remember…I was sitting on one of the campfire benches during supervision when I had an epiphany of sorts.  

It was near the end of camp, school was two weeks away, and I could not bear the idea of entering a classroom.  Now, this was a shocking thought for me, a self-proclaimed nerd who normally loves school, actually enjoys doing homework and papers, and doesn't consider anything less than an “A” living up to my ability; I sat there terrified.  I mean, how could I not want to go to school?  

Right then and there I realized the futility of school and education without the supplementation of world experiences.  I mean yeah, I was in college earning a degree, but what the heck does that really mean?  If I died tomorrow all I would have done was put myself in the position to become a cog in the American machine of Capitalism.  GAG.  I wanted to do more with my life than merely follow the path etched in front of me.  I needed to see the world.  If there was someplace so beautiful as Skylake and Yosemite National Park only four hours away from my Los Angeles home, what other marvels existed out there? How could anyone think less of me for wanting to see those things?  And how could I not be considered a more interesting, qualified, and capable person for exploring those places?  

This is not to say that I don't value education--I believe it is paramount for success in this world.  And the notion that I wouldn’t be in the luxurious position of deciding to forgo our capitalist machine, were it not for my education, is not lost on me.  I thank Skylake for changing my outlook on life. I no longer want to take the most direct route to the end, but prefer to meander through the back roads and discover all the beauties our planet has to offer. 

I returned to camp in 2008 with four of my best friends for another amazing summer.  Seriously, Skylake is the best camp ever--sorry Michael Klein!--and I am so so so grateful Jon Moore hired me way back when!  Most all of my best friends have worked at Skylake, and they are the most dynamic and charismatic people I know.

If you are looking for a way to get paid to travel this summer, consider working at a summer camp.  I'm convinced it's one of the best jobs out there; you get paid to play with children and live by a lake and have dirty feet...it doesn't get much better than that!  Definitely consider working at Skylake, because there is this little thing called Skylake Magic, and it does exist.  

It's officially less than three months until I'll be jumping off the docks, playing nine square, and once again living in a cabin, by a lake, near Yosemite.  Not that I'm counting the days...OK...maybe I am!