"Camper Testimonials"
"I've Grown as a Person"
Matt Smith
"Like most people, you come to camp with many goals. Should I audition for this play or that one? Should I visit Wood or Leather? However, I think the true goal of Buck's Rock is beyond the superficial. I believe finding yourself is the true journey a Buck's Rocker takes throughout a summer. You are challenged enough, but at the same time, free to explore and go beyond your limits. Speaking from personal experience, I have spent the past four summers at camp, and I think I've grown as a person, in my acting abilities, but also socially and emotionally. (Camp gives you the chance to intermingle with people of ALL ages -- from 10 to 35 -- , opposite genders, other campers, counselors, etc.!) A favorite phrase of mine is "Anything can happen if you let it". Nowhere else is this more true than at Buck's Rock. "
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"The End...Or the Beginning"
Kate Schapira
"Once upon a time there was a place that wasn't heaven, but almost. At first glance it was just a collection of buildings and trees. But when you got there, you began to melt in.
You began to have friends and make things that weren't always beautiful or useful, but you did have fun making them--and you could always make more. You started to take part in the many crazy activities that infiltrated this wonderful place.
As time went by, you joined the chorus, or dance class, or auditioned for a play, or became a clown, or... anyway, whatever you did, there was no pressure and it was sure to be fun eventually. You even picked up a few inside jokes. "Show me!" you said. "Show me more!" And the counselors, true to their wonderful and usually patient selves, did.
And maybe there were rough spots, days when your pots collapsed and your solder broke and your friends deserted you. But because of the caring and supportive environment, you weathered them. You got through them. And this place began to seem, afterward, even more like heaven. There was so much to do. There was so much to be. There still is. Can you guess what I'm talking about? Have you been there? Of course you have. And you'll come back. You won't be able to help yourself. Once you've been to this wonderful place, Buck's Rock, you're a part of it. And it's a part of you. You'll see. The End... or the beginning."
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"First Year Camper"
Peter Anderson
"When I first heard of Buck's Rock, I thought it was just another loving, sing around the fire kind of camp. Boy, was I wrong! Buck's Rock is more than just a camp, it's a place where you don't have to worry about anything: the clothes you wear, being the best athlete, actor, singer etc... When I auditioned for one of the plays, I was really nervous, but during my audition I met new friends who auditioned with me and when we messed up we would laugh about it afterwards. Buck's Rock is not just another camp, it's a place where you can make great friends and have a lot of fun."
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"Cool Summer Breeze"
Unknown Author
"I came to this camp a socially lost person, an uptight person, a perfectionist to the point that I would try no activity in which I could not achieved what I thought was an acceptable standard. And through these few weeks I found many parts of myself.
I found the more confident person who would hold molten glass on the end of a pole. And I found someone who would do something even more frightening Ð make friends and try to forget the idea that they would one day reject me, or hurt me. The people I met here were ones to whom I completely entrust my psyche. There is not a single person here who has ever hurt me, and this is the only place I have ever been about which I can say that. My friends and counselors here are some of the most interesting, talented, funny, decent people I have ever met.
I have tried so many things. I have tried things that didn't come out perfectly, and for the first time since I can remember, I am just as proud of the bowl that is slightly lopsided and the batik with a few wax drops as I am of the things that are just so, just "perfect."
In this place I found peace and resolution with myself. I began to truly believe that I am special in some areas where I never received enough direction from people I trusted to tell me the truth. But more importantly, I can now do something where no one will ever tell me I am "the best" or "so talented," and that this is all right.
Thank you, Buck's Rock, for the cool summer breeze that will always blow over me. Thank you for helping me give myself the best gift I ever got."
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