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If you were to ask any one of my friends back home what my favorite thing in the world was, they would, without hesitation, say SMA Summer Camp for Teenagers. And I am sure if you asked them to give any fact about me it would surely revolve around me and my camp experience. I can for sure say that I mention camp on a daily basis. I pride myself in making one connection or retelling, probably for the fifth time, one silly story every day. Most of the stories I tell my friends ends in them giving me a weird look or making a face that screams they do not believe me.
And as much as I hate to crush their assumptions, most of the 
insane and completely unbelievable stories I tell are completely true. When I tell people at home about my crazy times buying the oddest gifts at Walmart for “Secret Friends” or about all of the times I wore a giraffe onesie out roller skating, no one ever believes me. But when I retell these stories to anyone who has ever attended camp, they laugh right along with me and return my tales with even crazier experiences of their own.
You do not have those sorts of connections back at home with school friends. That is just how overnight summer camps in PA works. For every crazy, great, memorable tale you tell, there are ten more just as great.
But perhaps the best part of my SMA Summer Camp for Teenagers expereince as a returning camper, is being around for that moment when a new camper really “clicks”. When I say “clicks” I mean the moment that a new camper "gets camp." If that
makes sense. That one instance on an activity or when talking to your cabin mates late into the night, when their eyes brighten. In that moment you can tell that that camper truly understand how amazing a place camp is. You see them look around
and grasp the fact that they have another place to call home and a huge extended family. Any time you talk to a camper after that you will see their eyes brighten and their smile grow. Every camper, no matter what camp they attend, has this moment and it truly is a life changer. It is great to return to camp year after year and see these campers and get to see them just soaking up the magnificence of camp.
All in all I can say Stone Mountain Adventures is one of the best places on Earth. It has changed me in more ways than I can count. It has made me open to new experiences, let down my walls, and let people in. I can most definitely say that camp has made me the person I am today and will continue to influence me for as long as I live. Thank you to everyone I have crossed paths and take my advice when I say take advantage of camp for as long as you can.
- Merina Madina!!
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