Every year, on the last day of RYLA, campers, or in my case first-year staff, write letters to their future selves that get mailed to them the following December. These letters serve as reminders to campers about their time spent at RYLA, what they learned from the experience, and what they want their future selves to remember. Looking back on the letter I wrote to myself that first summer, I feel immense gratitude to the RYLA community for providing a sanctuary of kindness, clarity, reflection, and growth in a world of constant rush and interrupted intentionality.
She has 3 years of Service with RYLA.
My own RYLA journey began a bit differently than most. I never had a camper year due to the pandemic and instead joined staff the summer after my junior year of high school. I was one of five first-year staff and to be honest, had no idea what I was getting myself into.
While I like to think some sort of dumb-luck universe-conspiring situation brought me to RYLA, I must give credit to my incredible high school guidance counselor Ms. Trundy. She had approached me earlier in the year and told me that RYLA District 7780 was looking for students to join their staff. Camp had not been held the past two summers and there were no recent campers to fill first-year staff positions. I knew from experience that whatever Ms. Trundy suggested was usually a very good idea and so I signed on. Little did I know I was about to become a part of one of the kindest, most caring, and inspiring communities I have ever been lucky enough to join.
As first-year staff, we were incredibly lucky to get a modified camper experience of our own, along with plenty of instruction and training. When I wrote my end-of-camp letter to my future self, I was exhausted. It had been an incredible week learning about RYLA and how to facilitate, helping with programs, completing elements, talking late into the night, marveling at the stars, and crying happy tears. I had so much I wanted to convey and so little energy to write it down. What I did manage to articulate, sitting on a rock by the lake, are some of the most important lessons and ideas that RYLA gifted me.
As I write this, I am preparing for my first college final exams and feeling overwhelmed and rushed in nearly every aspect of my life. It is so easy to get lost in the never-ending stream of work and day-to-day tasks. It is so easy to forget to slow down and be gentle with ourselves as we navigate this beautiful life.
In my letter I told myself, “your capacity to feel emotion is vast—take advantage of it,”. There was also the classic RYLA mantra “high fives and smiles are free.” I was reminded of all the time I have ahead of me – all the time I have to feel joy and pain, to practice kindness, to give back to my community, to share what I have learned, and to continue learning. I was reminded that I am on my own timeline; that kindness and community will get me far, and that the most rewarding week of my life revolved around working for the benefit of others. While the Rotary motto is “Service Above Self,” I believe our well-being requires us to commit to doing good for others.
This past summer at RYLA was my first as a co-facilitator. It was challenging, exhausting, and incredibly rewarding. I left feeling more capable of caring for others, holding responsibility, and making decisions – grateful for the opportunity to do good work. While I will continue to get overwhelmed and distracted throughout my life, caught up in whatever dramas, slogs, or adventures, I know RYLA will always be a community for me to come back to; one where I can be of service and continue learning, searching and finding ways to create meaning and intention. I look forward to many more years of RYLA and the growth and knowledge that accompanies them. Until next RYLA, I have a lot of smiles to give away.
Zoë Brush is from Georgetown, Maine. She first attended RYLA as Leg Support staff and returned as a Co-facilitator the following summer. Zoë was sponsored by the Bath Rotary Club and graduated from Morse High School in 2023. She is currently in her first year at Oberlin College where she is a prospective Comparative American Studies Major and is learning to play banjo, amongst other adventures.