In the fall of 2024, I made the big decision not to go back to my childhood camp. Not that I didn’t love it; I left because I was ready to move on and wanted to spend my summers doing something else. At the same time, my email inbox was getting spammed with the oh-so-familiar emails from BBYO summer. After careful deliberation (and some fights with my mom), I signed up for two programs: the Costa Rica and Galapagos trek and CLTC 4, the day before early-bird registration closed. 

Despite a couple of teary phone calls with my camp friends, I was sooo excited for the upcoming summer. I dedicated two corners of my room to the stuff I would take on the trip: one side for Passport, the other for CLTC. Fast forward to March 2025, and my mom got a phone call from the BBYO summer team informing us that the Passport trip had been canceled. I was given a week to decide what to do with my summer next. I ended up sticking with the Costa Rica trip, making it a week shorter.

Once it got to June, I was nervcited (nervous + excited). I was so ready to go on this trip, but terrified at the prospect of not making any friends. The first day, I was disappointed– not that anything had gone wrong, but I had built up this idea that I would instantly find my “forever” friends. As the summer program went on, I realized that friendships don’t always happen exactly the way you imagine them. I loved my trip, the experiences I had, and the people I met, even if it looked different from what I originally expected.

After I came home, I was hysterical at the prospect of CLTC going the same way. I spiraled into the what-ifs: “What if I should’ve picked another trip? What if CLTC goes the same way?” My nerves got so bad that I had to get off my phone to avoid obsessing over the Instagram introductions, wondering if anyone would like me. Three weeks later, the night before CLTC, I hit a factory reset on my expectations and decided that I would go into the camp with the most open mind that anyone had ever seen. That morning, I got in my car and headed to Newark Airport at 10:00 am. I wanted to get there right when people started to come, so I could meet as many people as possible. I was so excited to see a group of girls sitting by the baggage carousel one, welcoming me into their conversation. We ended up hanging out all day, getting food, going on the Airtrain, and multiple buses, waiting for the others to arrive.

Following our exciting airport adventures, I got to CLTC and met even more people whom I loved. I met the people in my bunk and icebreaker group, meeting even more people. Once at CLTC, I never doubted the prospects of my friends, because I had found my best friends.

Now, I talk to these friends every day on the phone, 11 months after we left. Going to CLTC without knowing anyone reminded me that every experience is different. It allowed me to open up, meet people I would not have met anywhere else, and form bonds that will last a lifetime. As I write this, the day before my full Perlman experience starts, I am going into it with the same open mind I started CLTC with.

If you are reading this, scared that something will not go the way you think it will, don’t worry. Friends usually have a way of finding you, but only if you look and try hard as well. Sometimes the connections you are looking for come immediately, and sometimes they grow in unexpected ways.