Return to Blog Cabin page.

October 2024
By Lydia Romano Barhight Trustee

The Camp Onaway core values help guide the campers while they are on Newfound Lake, but also serve to help the board in stewardship and decision making. Every meeting of the board of trustees starts with a member offering a reflection centering on one of these values (Self-Discovery, Simplicity, Honor, Spirituality and Love, and Community). Within the core value of Honor are included habits of honesty and integrity. At a recent board meeting, I considered the core Onaway Value of Honor and specifically a habit of honesty, reflecting on how that connected to my Camp Onaway experience.

It occurs to me that “honesty” can be interpreted many ways. I have found myself thinking about honesty with myself- in particular, learning to be humble, accountable, and brave enough to change. 

I recently found my journal from 1999, spanning the summer as a 16-year-old OWLE into my first semester at boarding school. This was hilarious but a bit cringey and painful to read. I detailed every day, and was clearly quite honest, as I shared happiness and achievements, but also days where I was down, frustrated, jealous, or tired. At times, I wanted simultaneously to hug this girl and shake her. 

I couldn’t think of any better way to share what Onaway means to me and how I grew from camp than to share some snapshots from that summer:

July 14, 1999

“Leadership”

• Being in control

• Improving situations

• Taking charge

• Helping others

• Good people skills

• Knowing what to do

• People listen to you/trust you

It’s the first day. I’m finally here at camp. I think it’s going to be a great trip! We’re going to be canoeing, and also sea kayaking, rock climbing…it’ll be awesome. I’m going to try to concentrate on the trip and get the most I can out of it, instead of worry about stuff.

A good leader has to be respected. At my school that means the right group, but it’s different here. We all know and trust each other so it will be ok. I haven’t had all that much experience with leadership, but adults seem to think I do. At home I’m the oldest. I never want to be thought of as “bossy” though. I think leadership is important to help things to get done.

Onaway is gorgeous. I’m sitting in the woods looking at the lake- I think it’s still free swim or writing period, almost evening. I wonder if I’ll be different when I get home. Will this trip or its demands change me? I hope so. I feel more relaxed and peaceful already. 

July 23
We’re supposed to be writing about leadership. What can I say? I hated being the leader, at least on resupply. Everybody expected resupply to be a calm, relaxed, luxurious day. We were all looking forward to the van ride, clean clothes, and toilet paper. What we didn’t realize was how much work there was to be done. We had to pack up everything and load the van. We had to get the canoes ready, make trips back and forth, it took a lot longer than we expected.  But, once we were off it was ok. You’d think it would be much easier than packing for the first time in the trips room, but it was much harder. If I could do it again, I wouldn’t have everyone so split up. It’s hard to work efficiently when you feel overwhelmed. I like leading people in general. It’s kinda fun being in charge. But when things don’t go as planned, it’s sometimes difficult to remember that it isn’t a one time pass/fail situation. It’s difficult to find a balance between being too bossy and not being in control enough. 

Sunday, July 25
Today we left for Acadia. It’s so pretty here! We had planned our hike already, so we went to Jordan Pond, up Penobscot mountain, and through the Bubble Gap. Unfortunately, I fell coming down. My feet slipped, I did a full circle, then I grabbed a tree so I wouldn’t fall. I have a huge scrape on my right arm below my elbow. There’s one really deep part about the size of a dime. Sarah told me she’s not too worried. She’s going to be a doctor, so I trust her judgment. It feels good to be hiking again. It’s a challenge because it’s so hard, and takes a lot out of you, but at the same time it feels so good. 

August 9
Today was a great day. We set out to hike Washington, and it was really cloudy. We went really fast up Tuckerman and Lions’ head, and ate lunch near Hermit’s lake. We had a really great pace going but the conditions were terrible and it started hailing. We had a group discussion about whether it was safe and smart to continue. We ended up going on, but then it got really freezing, so we turned back. I think we were all glad. It was good that we made the decision as a group. I can’t believe OWLES is basically over. Tomorrow we go back to camp. 

Onaway gave me role models, both senior and contemporary. I saw options for ways that I could be the best me. People I admired, in so many different aspects. Photographers, hikers, comediennes, storytellers. What Onaway gave me was the space and safety to explore my own talents, to “try different things out,” and find my own personal style. I still feel proud that I swam the length of the lake, or went on backpacking my Skytops year. But big goals are made up of small practice, and Onaway shaped me for the little things, how I approach each day, and each challenge.  Camp held me accountable to myself, to be honest about my failures and shortcomings, but was also a safety net. It is such a gift to be offered a space to do that where you know you will be held, and given kind feedback, encouragement, and nudged down positive paths. I am so grateful to Onaway.