Erica B., Age 14

One of my leaders this year was Sh-Boom, who I highly respect and look up to. Because of her character and experience, I decided to interview her for the benefit of both myself and other campers.

One of the questions that I asked was how long she has been coming to camp, to which she responded, “I started camp at eight years old.”

She attended all three camps: junior, teen, and adventure camp. Because of these facts, I asked her, “Which camp do you think you’ve experienced the most growth?” She replied, “When I was 14 (teen camp), I experienced not only personal growth, but growth in my community… I had more close friends.”

Since she has a lot of camp experience, I asked Sh-Boom, “What advice would you give a new teen camper?” She answered, “Don’t close yourself off. Be open to new opportunities, new experiences, and new people.”

I also asked, “Did teen camp affect your choices as a teen in a positive way? If so, how?” She responded, “I believe so… It gave me a deeper appreciation for worship, which is also my favorite part of camp. I think I can really feel God’s presence when I’m worshipping.

My final question for Sh-Boom about camp was, “Can you sum up your time at teen camp?” To which she replied, “I will use our Yiddish word of the day, Nachas, which means great joy.”

Not only did I interview her about camp, but also advice for my age group. I asked, “What did you do in your teen years that changed your life for the better?” She replied, “I rededicated my life here at teen when I was 14.”

After some thought, I also asked, “How would you described your teen camp experience?” She answered, “Pretty awesome. Actually… very molding.”

Finally, for the benefit of myself and other teenagers I asked her, “What Bible verse would you recommend for a teenager?” She responded with, “Lamentations 3:55 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17 because these are two verses that have personally helped me in hard times.” I can now hopefully use this information to help me with my own teenage experience.