Guest post by Rachel Baker, Program Coordinator and Camp alumna.

Before age 11, I spent my summers at dance practice, the beach, swimming pools and 4th of July Parades in Southern California. Don’t get me wrong—it was a lot of fun. But when my friend told me about The Bar 717 Ranch, I was instantly intrigued. As an only child, the idea of sleeping under the stars with other girls my age seemed magical. I was counting down the days, hours and soon to be minutes until my camp arrival.

My three weeks there were spent mostly away from main camp. The first week was spent on a homestead trip to Emily’s. The second, on a backpacking trip and the third was spent under the apple trees—still, my favorite place to be.

As my first summer at Bar 717 came to a close, I was surprised by how different my experience was than I expected.  Helping build a roof for camp and hiking miles a day was not something I was used to. Throughout each chapter that session, I felt a mixture of emotions; vulnerability, strength, fear and confidence are a few. However, something deep inside of me knew that, as unfamiliar as these emotions felt, they were something I yearned for. I decided to go back.

Those 10 summers under the apple trees flew by. Through it all, I had found sisters and brothers of my own. Each sunny season felt rewarding, challenging, comforting and so many other things. It had color. I was in love.

Immediately after that 10th summer, a drastic shift happened in my life. While the event that unraveled is irrelevant to this story, it’s important to note that this deep life change pushed me to crave stability and consistency in my everyday. Suddenly, at 22, moving from city to city was not appealing to me anymore—Change was my worst enemy.

So I decided I wanted to “find a direction.” What does that mean exactly? I’m not so sure. Still, I strived to figure out *drum roll* “what I wanted to do with my life.”

I spent two years and three summers working 9-5 in different school systems. It felt wonderful forming deep bonds with communities I would’ve never had the opportunity to work with otherwise; I began to discover myself in the workplace; I forged my own support system in an unfamiliar city. Maybe my life didn’t have direction just yet, but I knew I was heading somewhere and that gave me a sigh of relief.

Then, an entirely different shift happened in my life, once again. Instantaneously, my days were no longer what they used to be. Everything felt, as it so often does, a mixture of ups and downs.

The chaos of emotions allowed me to truly ask myself what I needed right now, at this stage in my life, and what I wanted out of life and its unpredictable tendencies. The more I thought about this, the more Bar 717 came to mind. Finally, I allowed myself to entertain the idea of working on ranch staff once again. Each time the option crept up I thought to myself, “Seriously, Rachel? What are you doing?! At this rate, you’ll be making fried bread in a onesie on the eating platform after retirement.”
But, honestly, would that be the worst thing?
Some might say yes (including myself, perhaps), but the truth is that life was asking me to take a breather and check in. I was beginning to feel the powerful repercussions of our fast paced society, and the ranch has always been my re-rooting place.

As an only child in a single-parent home, the ranch gave me dynamic, community and, therefore, a bigger purpose. When there, I am reminded of all the simple things in life that matter most; that the world is so exhilaratingly large and exquisitely small all at once. It’s my forever-perfect, inspirational launching pad

This summer, I am saying ‘yes’ to taking it slow. After all, the apple trees are calling a bit louder this time ‘round. Just 22 days left.