Dear Lanakila 2024,
I miss camp! There’s no other way to describe how I’m feeling. I miss chicken patties, birthday night chaos, Ameden League games, Council Fire, and Some Day wishes being granted!
Each of these images could have the ability to send me into a world of sadness, longing to get back to camp to prolong the summer of fun and adventure. On the flip side, these images could also bring a smile to my face, providing me with the memories of all we accomplished this summer.
In typical camp fashion, I choose the latter, feeling like I have an opportunity to decide how I want to feel, as well as what I choose to focus on. This summer felt like one of the most impactful ones I’ve ever had the privilege to participate in. At every moment of every day, campers and counselors showed up for each other with their complete selves. Obviously, the minutiae of daily life can provide conflicts, both small and large, but at its core, our community worked hard at providing each other with honesty, transparency, and love.
Every summer brings a series of gifts, a series of lessons that provide a road map for returning home. As I mentioned at Final Council Fire, I was thinking of the lyrics to the song Skol recently and “In every storm bravehearted. Then Ho for the Gale” kept repeating itself in my head.
If we’re being honest, most people want security, constancy, and ease. They aren’t necessarily prepared, nor want to head into a storm. We seek calm on a consistent level, but I believe that at Lanakila, we prepare ourselves for the storms as well. I like to believe that we are willing to hoist our sails and head into uncharted waters because we have the experience and framework for how we want to handle ourselves when this happens.
I hope we have the potential to remember the phrase, “Ho for The Gale” knowing that we can celebrate the hard times. I know it can be difficult to celebrate an upcoming math test or a science project we put off a bit too long. We can push through the fear knowing we have the resolve and the people around us to help us in any situation. I think we can welcome it, accept it, and take it head-on.
In other news, I have also had the opportunity to see many of you at the Lanakila open house events all over the country. It is at these events that I get to re-connect with so many of you and not only hear what you’ve been doing in the offseason, but reminisce about what made Lanakila so special in 2024. What I realized at these reunions is the fact that we live the magic on a day-today basis, but it’s cool to be reunited in the offseason to re-energize ourselves and begin the countdown to the summer of 2025.
I walked away from the summer (and these open houses) with a feeling of love and admiration for what Lanakila brings to each and every one of us. I am humbled by the realization that we are all so lucky to have the opportunity to come to camp each year and learn how we want to view the world, who we want to be in our day-to-day lives, and how we can take the lessons we acquire at Lanakila to create our best selves.
Ho For the Gale!
BRYAN PARTRIDGE Director of Lanakila
