Inspiring confident, kind kids & forever friendships
Note: The original newsletter send did not include the link to the video (we swear this looked right in drafts!).
Below is the email with the link and another link for backup.
I want you to watch something.
Evergreen Color War at K&E from a couple of summers ago.
Hit play. It’s 2 minutes.
Here is the link to the video on YouTube
What You’re Actually Seeing
See the girl at the 20-second mark. Full sprint. Very focused. Zero concern about looking stupid or bad.
Watch the girls lugging water jugs. Messy teamwork. Effort without a lot of self-consciousness about appearance.
Watch the group costumes and cheers. Watch kids standing in front of everyone, going all in.
You see determination, messiness, wildness, heart.
What you don’t see? A single kid worrying about how she looks.
To the uninitiated, this video looks like it’s about competition. It’s not.
The Performance Script
A lot of girls carry around an internal monologue that sounds like this:
“Is it okay?”
“Is it working?”
“Am I doing it right?”
“Am I under control enough?”
“Do people actually like me?”
I see this in my coaching work. I see it at camp. I see it with my own daughter.
Girls often perform for approval. They monitor themselves constantly. That vigilance costs energy, joy, and the ability to just be themselves.
Camp interrupts that script for days, weeks, months, and years.
What Happens at Camp
The girls in that video? They aren’t performing or managing an image. They’re showing up for themselves and for their friends.
When kids go all in like that, they’re taking a risk. Showing up with your whole heart means people see you screw up, get tired, look ridiculous.
At most places, that risk doesn’t come close to paying off.
At camp, it does.
Kids see other kids hauling water jugs and cheering like maniacs, and the response is energy. Cheering. Laughter. Support.
Not correction. Not mean little comments. Not “tone it down.” Not “maybe do it differently.”
This is equation-changing at the highest (and most fun) level.
The Actual Equation
Vulnerable moment + positive response = double confidence points.
And really, it’s not even double. It’s exponential. Single moments like these do more for a kid’s confidence than a thousand compliments on their best day.
We see this happen over and over at camp. When it adds up over weeks, it changes how kids see themselves.
That’s why camp kids come home so sure of themselves.
More confident. Less self-conscious. Comfortable in their own skin.
Go back and watch that clip one more time.
That’s what we want for every kid at K&E.
Not polished. Not performing.
Just coming home with double (or triple, or exponential) confidence points.
Best,
Sylvia
PS – Got questions about camp? I want to answer them all. Let’s talk!
Sylvia van Meerten
Evergreen Director
[email protected]
114 Eagle Pond Rd, Wilmot, NH 03287
Camps Kenwood & Evergreen Snapshot
- Location: New England overnight summer camp
- Philosophy: Growth through community, independence, and belonging
- Structure: Unified camp mission with gender-specific campuses
- Outcomes: Confidence, leadership, friendship, identity growth
