Welcome to my inaugural blog, Thoughts from the Bubble!
After 11 summers at camp, I’ve gathered plenty of reflections on what makes this community, and the camp experience itself, such an incredible gift for our campers, families, staff, and alumni. Along the way, I’ve also picked up a lot of “kid wisdom” through my years in education and nearly two decades of parenting. This blog is a space to share those stories, lessons, and insights from life inside (and sometimes outside) the bubble. I hope you’ll read along, join the conversation, and reach out anytime—I’d love to connect.
For those who know camp, it’s often called the bubble. It’s a warm, safe, and cozy world where everyone, from our youngest campers to our most seasoned staff, belongs. Outside, life moves fast, full of school, schedules, and noise. Inside the bubble, time slows down. Days are simpler, nights are magical, and the world feels just a little brighter and happier. Nestled along the same lake where generations before us have laughed and grown, camp exists in its own rhythm, a small world within a world.
There is so much good that happens here in the bubble.
Parents, there is no place like the bubble for your campers; there are endless summer days filled with laughter and friendship, sports, drama, arts & crafts, swimming, the climbing tower, sailing. The list goes on. Summer nights bring shared stories, glowing campfires, and the kind of bonding that only happens when the stars are bright and the world feels small and safe. In this bubble, the stressors of school, home, and the constant go-go-go of everyday life simply fade away. It’s a place where campers get to try on new versions of themselves, or lean proudly into who they already are. They grow more independent, more confident, and more comfortable in their own skin. It’s nothing short of magical to watch a shy camper step onto the stage for the first time, or to see a child who struggles socially at home find the friendships they’ve been longing for. Connections at camp are real; they are face-to-face, screen-free, and genuine. It’s a beautiful thing to witness.
The bubble is filled with incredible role models at every turn from older campers to CITs and counselors. They are all people who embody kindness, empathy, and leadership. They’re the kinds of people you’d be proud for your child to grow up to be.
For our staff, the bubble feels like coming home, a place that wraps you up like a favorite blanket. Camp is their other family, the one they choose. Many return year after year because there’s simply no other place that makes them feel as confident, fulfilled, and happy as camp does. Here, they can disconnect from the noise of the outside world. Phones are away except during free time. Where else can you silence your notifications and not participate in the endless scrolling of social media without feeling FOMO? Camp is one of the few places left where that’s possible, and our staff have reported that it feels freeing.
And yet, even as they unplug, staff are building 21st-century skills that will carry them far beyond the bubble. Anecdotally, we have been told by successful alumni in their fields that employers who see camp counselor on a resume, know that there’s nothing this candidate can’t do. They know how to be flexible, how to pivot, how to lead a group and work on a team, how to give and receive feedback, how to motivate others, how to teach, and the list goes on. The bubble prepares young adults for the world outside it.
And for the adults, like myself, who are lucky enough to experience the camp bubble firsthand, we know it’s not just the campers and counselors who benefit. At this age we can still make lasting friendships, we can grow ourselves personally and professionally, we can unplug and forget the outside world and its stressors, and sometimes we may even step outside of our comfort zone onto the stage in front of the whole entire camp.
As someone who gets to live in the bubble each summer, I can tell you it never loses its magic, and I think our alumni would agree. Each season brings new faces, new memories, and the same sense of belonging that fills this place year after year. The camp bubble may only last for a short while each summer, but its impact: the confidence, the connection, the joy… it stays with us long after we leave.
The bubble may be temporary, but what it gives us lasts all year long, and often, a lifetime.
Lauren
Director, Camp Tevya
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