“I feel brave.” – Maren, age 8, after scaling the climbing wall

One of our division leaders told me about this quote from last week.

Three simple words. But they say so much about what we see in these kids every single day, all summer long.

She’d just finished climbing up the wall on the way to the top. Her counselors were celebrating too, giving out high-fives and telling her how awesome she did.

They asked how she felt.

“I feel brave.”

Not “I was brave.” Not “I did something brave.”

“I feel brave.”

That’s not just accomplishment. That’s identity.

We Don’t Make Kids Brave

Camp doesn’t make kids brave. But it does help them believe that they already are.

During our opening Torchlight ceremony, on the first night of camp, we tell the entire group: “Just coming to camp takes courage.”

It’s easy to look past, especially if you’ve been at camp awhile, but it’s no small feat.

These campers packed their bags, left home, and said goodbye to their own bed and favorite breakfast routine. They signed up for a week or two or four of relative unknowns. Sleeping in an unfamiliar place, meeting new people, and trying new things.

That takes courage.

Kids don’t always think of it in that exact way. They sometimes think courage has to look like it does in movies; being the hero or saving the day. But there are lots of ways to show courage, especially at camp.

Camp isn’t a bravery factory. It’s a story-making factory.

Stories require experiences and data points, and camp gives kids evidence that they know how to be brave.

Lots of little moments grow into a story they can tell about themselves.

And that’s what identity is: the bundle of stories we believe to be true about ourselves.

The Bravery Circle

What happened with Maren illustrates something we call the Courage Circle. It looks like this:

A camper does something that feels tough for them. Maybe it’s like Maren at the climbing wall. Maybe it’s speaking up in a group of people they just met. Maybe it’s simply trying a new activity they’ve never done before.

They feel the rush of having pushed through their hesitation.

Then someone notices. A staff member says, “That took courage” or “You were really brave to try that.”

The camper hears it, believes it, and something shifts inside them.

And then they enter the circle.

Once you’re placed in this circle, it’s easier for it to keep spinning.

This is why recognition is such an important part. It keeps the cycle going. When someone recognizes a camper for being courageous every day for a whole camp session, it builds into story they tell themselves.

Courage isn’t just about scaling some wall or completing every challenge with “perfection”.

It’s about making the effort to overcome a fear, or making the choice to try despite uncertainty.

Camp gives them a chance to go around the Courage Circle enough times to reinforce that this is a part of their identity.

Coming Full Circle

Every night at camp, we end Torchlight the same way. We tell the campers, “We can…” and they shout back, “…do hard things!”

A daily reminder that being this type of strong isn’t a one-time event. It’s who we are.

And then on the the last night of camp, we bring it back to where we started: courage.

Now, instead of just acknowledging the bravery it took to come to camp, we’re celebrating all the courage they’ve discovered along the way.

The climbing wall attempts.

The new friendships formed.

The moments they spoke up in their cabin.

The times they tried something that scared them a little.

The nights they missed home but stayed present for their experience.

Our staff will do this while they’re at camp. But this is easy in everyday life as well.

When your child comes home, they’ll have stories. Some they’ll share proudly, others they might not even recognize as brave.

When they tell you about the friend they made who seemed shy at first, you can say, “That took courage.”

When they mention trying an activity they weren’t sure about, you can reflect back, “You were brave to try that.”

Your recognition helps amplify the circle.

We hope your campers come home from camp standing a little taller and feeling more confident to take on the world.

And if you keep the Courage Circle spinning this school year, we can’t wait to see how much they continue grow by next summer.

Erec Sir