For the entirety of my most recent year in BBYO, I was told, “Go on CLTC; It will be the best 12 days of your life!” At first, I laughed and shrugged it off; I couldn’t imagine myself going to any sleep-away camp. As time went on, I succumbed to the pressure and registered for CLTC 3 2024. To put it simply, I didn’t realize it at the time, but this would be the best decision of my life. 

Leading up to departure day, I became a nervous wreck. I was not in a good headspace going into it, reminding myself of everything that could go wrong. Honestly, the first two days were not the picturesque experience everyone made it out to be. I struggled to find friends and couldn’t get used to a new schedule. 

On day three, after routinely spending my time with the same people, I found my friends. Our friend group spanned the entire country, literally—from New Jersey to California and multiple states in between.

Our days were spent experiencing meaningful programming, Jewish enrichment activities, leadership opportunities, and, of course, deep talks during chofesh. While we all interpreted these programs differently, we had one thing in common: we felt what we felt while being together. 

The togetherness I felt at CLTC was like nothing else. After a few short days that felt like an eternity, I knew that I had found forever friends. It was never a question that at meals, all ten of us would happily squeeze into one end of a table. I never went anywhere without one of my friends volunteering to join. At night in the bunks, we would pile four people onto an extremely uncomfortable twin-size bed, collectively deciding we wouldn’t want it any other way. 

With these amazing people, I was able to be myself in a way that I didn’t feel I could be at home. This is a love letter to CLTC for giving me the best of friends, giving me a place where I could be myself, and most importantly, giving me a feeling of community and acceptance that I had looked for my whole life.