Final STARFISH

Congratulations to this weeks STARFISH winners for Sensitivity; Jason Dickstein, Luke Silverman, Hannah Adler, Paige Watsky, Gabe Rubinsky, Zoey Gleiber, Noah Loewy, Carly Borzooyeh, Dylan Schneider, Demi Irgang, Chase Noah, Nicole Mintz, Brett Loccker, Sophia Flaum, Justin Max, Marisa Ruttgeiser, Noah Reiss, and Samantha Gilbert.

Another congratulations to the winners of Helpfulness; Charlie Gibbs, Ben Karol, Sam Waxer, Jara Gelfand, Spencer Friedland, Caylah Benowitz, Michael Rouinsky, Alana Weissberg, Adam Kochman Amanda Bruck, Jesse Boudin, Madison Siegel, Matthew Shupack, Leanna Grow, Jake Kreppel, Tara Silberg, Spencer Goldberg, and Taylor Freeman.
Well done to all of our final STARFISH winners!

Read on to see Wendy’s weekly STARFISH speech:

Imagine this…It’s the first day of Color War – no it’s the first moments of Color War – and blue and white flyers come floating down from the sky and every single camper and counselor in camp is going absolutely crazy.  Camp is FILLED with an unexplainable feeling — excitement that the anticipation and waiting are over, excitement about the team names and the generals and the colonels and the lieutenants and the captains.  You look around and everywhere there is hugging and jumping and screaming…and tears.  Tears of joy, tears of I don’t know what, tears of disappointment.
I know…you’re wondering why disappointment on the most exciting day of the summer?  Well…maybe you think you’re going to be a captain of your division and you weren’t chosen.  Maybe you were hoping that your counselor would be a general and he or she isn’t.  Maybe you thought YOU would be a general and you’re not. Perhaps you’re not on the same team as your best friend, and you can’t imagine being on separate teams.
Fast forward and it’s lunchtime on the third day of Color War.  It’s 85 degrees and sunny and broiling outside.  You’re hot, you’re tired and your team just lost a Marble Call AND almost all of the games from the morning.  The counselor at your lunch table didn’t bring enough pasta for everyone and you’re still hungry. At rest hour you have to go to sing practice even though you just want to go back to the bunk and chill on your bed. You get teary eyed for a reason you can’t even explain and the day is only half over.
Fast forward again and it’s the night of Rope Burn and you just know your team is going to win it. The counselors your team chose to build the fire are the strongest, fiercest, toughest and most rugged guys at this camp and there’s no way they can lose. You lose your voice as you’re cheering B-U-R-N BURN THE ROPE, but your team’s massive flames are just not hot enough or high enough, and the other team’s rope breaks in half just seconds before yours does. And your throat tightens up as you watch your best friend from the opposing team jumping up and down in a circle with all of the kids on his team…you can’t hide your tears or your disappointment. You want to be happy for them, but you just don’t have it in you. You don’t even want to go back to the bunk where the talk of the night will be rope burn, even though there’s not supposed to be Color War talk in the bunks.
Fast forward one last time and it’s Color War Sing Night.  The intensity of the last five days culminates in the Tylerdome, with scenery as incredible as what you would see at a Broadway show.  Every hand is squeezed tight as the evening comes to a close with the reading of the scores.  The camp erupts as the winner is announced, and the screaming and the cheering are loud enough to wake up the campers at Indianhead.
This is it everyone…this is a snapshot of what’s in store for you once Color War makes its way to Tyler Hill.  And I want you to go in with your eyes wide open.  It’s going to be really hard to be in the STARFISH mode when this entire camp turns white and blue and each team challenges the other in everything from Tug of War to Trivia questions to who can be more silent in the dining hall at meals.
But this is where true character is built.  This is when you dig deep inside of you to find the bigger person, to find the person that remembers that friendship and sportsmanship are more important than anything.
These are the days that will define who you are as a person, as a friend, as a camper, as a teammate, as an opponent. Can you rise above a loss to congratulate your bunkmate on the other team for winning an event?  Do you have it in you to be disappointed inside but not show it outright by kicking a wall or ignoring a friend or just getting mad at the world?   .
I obviously cannot answer the questions for you – and even sitting here tonight YOU probably can’t answer them either.  And maybe you’ll think back to this night and this speech and you’ll remember how you promised you would act.  Color War is the time in camp that legends are made.  Not legends in sports or legends in strength or speed…but legends in character.  Do your best to be a legend this Color War.
Welcome back to all of you that were gone for the week. Camp is never the same until every one of you is back here – and I’m beyond happy to have you all back.  We are finally one camp again…and it feels so good.  Lower Camp has had an amazing week, I know that you in Upper Camp have had an amazing week…and now we head into our last amazing week all together here at camp. Remember that it’s the very last one of the Tyler Hill summer of 2014 and make it a great one.