There is no place like home. This phrase is heard over and over, and it shows how deeply people love their places around the world. In my life, I have found my second home at Herzl Camp. Located in rural Wisconsin, it is the place where I have created a family and discovered a passion for Judaism through Shabbat on the Mercaz and memorable Birkat Hamazon prayers after meals.

I attended camp for the first time in 2016 and stayed for two weeks. Even though I don't remember it myself, my mom always tells me that I instantly started bawling the minute I got into the car after bus pickup because I missed all the new friends I made. This turned out to be extremely true as I came home each summer with tears streaming down my face after the summer of a lifetime. I learned that the reason I never wanted to leave this magical place was because of the Jewish family I built there. I’ve never been in a place with so many Jews, and I have found over time that there is truly nothing better than getting to create unique connections with other Jews from all over the world.

This summer, I had the privilege of being an OZO (counselor-in-training) at camp. The other Ozrim and I worked alongside campers while also building connections within our age group. I can say for certain that this experience opened my eyes to the importance of installing strong Jewish values in the next generation of Jews and providing them with the beautiful camp life that my friends and I were gifted with. I developed relationships with young campers who looked up to me throughout the summer, leading to the opportunity to voice the passion I have for Judaism. Additionally, I made lifelong friends with people I’d known forever and others I’d just met. Living alongside 53 of my best friends and the most supportive leadership team during the eight weeks of camp taught me that the things I learned as an Ozo will carry me far in my camp career and in life.

To my friends at home, camp is the place that I escape to during the summer, not seeing them for many weeks. However, it is much more than that. It’s the place where my home has been established, and in order to understand, you have to be part of the magic. Doing the OZO dance in the Chadar (dining hall), walking the POAD (path and road) in Shabbas whites during the Shabbat Caravan, cheering when Bikkurim (color wars) begins, and just making everything special is what camp is all about to me.