The Sari Diaries- Friday 8/2/24

Dear Chippies, Parents, Family and Friends,

Below is an incredible TSD entry from Lakeview camper, Lilly R, who I had the opportunity to switch with today. You will love reading what she has to write- she is thoughtful, articulate and authentic in her post. A huge thank you to Lilly not only for writing The Sari Diaries & taking the photos featured in this post, but also for an amazing day…it was fun to watch her act like me all day long, and to spend some time with her talking camp, camp work and camp fun! Lilly is an excellent “P-Dancer,” she did afternoon announcements flawlessly and found a great balance of taking her job seriously today while also having a good time. Lilly is someone who makes #TheRanch2024 a better place, and I was thrilled to have her step into my shoes today. That’s all from me for now…see below for Lilly’s amazing diary entry:

From Lilly R

“Today was a great day at Chippewa. It was Camper-Counselor Switch Day!! This is a very fun day where campers ranging from cabins A-Frame, C-C, and Bowed Legs (13) all the way to Lakeview (15) get to switch places with a staff member. I’m Lilly R, and I am Sari for the day! A few days before this day with a twist, campers are able to choose their staff member by playing the game of “Horse and Goggle.” This game determines who will switch with who. Since Lakeview is the oldest cabin, they receive the first picks of who they would like to be! The camper meets up with her staff member and they are able to converse on what each other will wear and what activities one another will take part in.

This exciting day kicked off during morning announcements when “Cliff” (Mia G) woke up the camp and started the day off with a wonderful “Seven Wonders Quiz!” Then at breakfast campers got dressed in their new clothes and sat at new tables acting as if they were a counselor, out of cabin staff (oocs), or director. The staff member was then able to act as if they were a camper and sit at that camper’s table along with other staff. This day is awesome for everyone in camp and lets people experience new things and overall enjoy themselves!!

Throughout the day, staff partook in campers’ activities like skiing, riding, going on the ropes course, and many other fun activities. The campers got to enjoy the perks of being on staff and take a look into a different perspective. This day is a great bonding experience as it brings the staff member and camper closer and allows us to spend the day with one another.

Tonight’s evening activity was campfire. Lily A led the “Women Empowerment” campfire! Cameron Ho sang the national anthem, and Leah C, Steph S, and Olivia S were the flag bearers. The flag box holder was Leah J!

That’s all from me today! I’m so happy and grateful that I was able to write this entry of Sari Diaries. This has been such a fun and enjoyable day that I won’t forget.

I’m very lucky to have been spending my past summers at Chippewa, the welcoming and loving place I can call home.

-Lilly R :)”

Thanks, Lilly- that was awesome! A couple of other campfire notes below, but aside from those (which Lilly couldn’t share because she actually wrote this before campfire), Lilly summarized our day perfectly.

Tonight’s campfire readers included Parker Z, Viv L, Chloe M, Harriet M, Lilah K, Cary K, Cora B, Layla L, Summer K, Logan W, Mia R and Jody J. Lauren Hill performed an original song, which was perfect for this evening’s theme, and the CR-Singers performed “Friends” and “One Tin Soldier.” Additionally, we had two outstanding sermonettes- camper sermonette by Ava M and staff sermonette by Dylan Grossmann. We will be sharing excerpts from Dylan’s sermonette in the coming days…it was empowering, inspiring and beautiful…exactly what this community & Sisterhood of strong women needed to hear as we start to think about entering back into the “real world.”

That’s all for tonight- thank you again, Lilly R…you are an amazing young person and I was honored to be you today :).

Happy Camping and Love,
Sari