Dear BBG,

Let me tell you a story about a place.

A place where you arrive not knowing what is waiting for you, and somehow leave wondering how you ever lived without it.

A place where you become a little more yourself every day. Where you can make mistakes, try again, laugh until your stomach hurts, and grow into the person you have always wanted to be.

That place is Perlman.

One summer, a bus pulled up, and a group of BBGs stepped off not knowing they were about to make some of the best memories of their lives. They did not know that the people standing beside them would soon become some of their favorite people in the world. They did not know that the place they had just arrived at would soon feel like home.

At first, Perlman is just a camp.

Then, somehow, it becomes so much more.

It becomes staying up way too late on the patio with your friends, talking about absolutely everything. It becomes screaming your heart out at Shabbat Shira until you lose your voice. It becomes running to the pool the second chofesh starts. It becomes laughing until you cannot breathe and wishing the night would never end.

And then there are the moments you never expect to mean so much.

Holding the people you love a little tighter during separates. Wrapping your arms around your friends during Havdalah, knowing the summer is almost over and wishing you could freeze that exact moment forever.

Because Perlman is really about the people.

It is the person you meet on the first day who somehow becomes one of your best friends. The friends you stay up all night talking to, the ones you call at ridiculous hours because you forgot about the time difference, and the ones you may not see for months but still run toward for the biggest hug when you finally do.

Somehow, these people become your people.

And somehow, Perlman becomes home.

I know this might sound like a story that is too good to be true. But I was once the BBG listening to someone tell me about Perlman, wondering if it could really be that special.

I needed a sign.

So BBG, maybe this is yours.

There is a version of you who has not met her people yet. Who has not laughed until she cannot breathe on the patio, screamed at Shabbat Shira, held her friends a little tighter during Separates, or cried during Havdalah because she suddenly realizes just how much she loves this place.

You have not made those memories yet.

But they are waiting for you.

So get on the bus.

Because one day, you will be sitting on that same patio, surrounded by people you love, wondering how you ever almost missed this.

And when someone asks you where home is, you might just smile and say,

Perlman.

Submitted with undying love for Shabbat Shira, lake days, separates, cabin bonding and the best 6 weeks of summer at Perlman, I forever remain Chelsea Goldfarb a proud attendee of ILTC & International Kallah ‘26