Hello Campers,
First, a heartfelt thank you for an amazing summer!
My name is Matthew Green, and I am the Financial Reporting & Operations Manager here at the Cal Alumni Association (CAA). I joined CAA about a year ago and, at the urging of Cathy Connelly, I found myself enjoying a weekend at the Lair of the Golden Bear in the middle of August (Week 10).
There was much I had heard about the Lair when I first came to CAA, yet one prevailing theme was the overwhelming passion and adoration people had towards the camp. At first, this struck me as peculiar as it is simply a campsite in the Sierra Nevada.
So I remained quite puzzled by the contrast between the devotion from its campers and the campsite itself. The stories and affection felt almost cultlike, breeding further confusion between the facilities and emotional passion. As if, in my mind, something refused to add up. Some enigma, or ‘magic’ I prefer to call it, around the Lair of the Golden Bear. For months, this lurked in the back of my thoughts, and I could not seem to let it go. The mystery of the Lair refused to leave my mind, a constant presence when I was cooking dinner, when driving to and from work, and even, in slight embarrassment, when taking a shower.
In my bewilderment, I turned to asking others, from coworkers working at the Lair to coworkers not. I even went as far as asking friends and family that had never heard of the camp. To my dismay, the answers I received were disappointing. The first answer, I remember, was that the magic of the Lair is due to the activities it offers such as hiking, kayaking, and so forth. As silly as this might sound, I knew this could not be the answer. While asking for clarity on the unknown, in my gut I had some intuition over what was clearly not the magic of the Lair.
And so I asked again, this time to others, and received more replies I believe were closer to the truth but not quite on the mark. Buffie, one of our Lair-dedicated HR staff, thought it was how the Lair has a sense of family and openness to all campers. Another colleague had the theory it was the parents of the campers.
One particular answer was how the Lair is too complicated and consists of too many variables. Therefore, it is not possible to know what the magic of the Lair is. Personally, I vehemently abhor this response. To me, it felt like an admission to simply give up, a mindset I refused to adopt for this mental exercise. And so I kept pondering. As time passed, about a month, I eventually found myself at the Lair during the start of Week 10, and sitting in Camp Gold during the songs and dances, it finally seemed to click. I cannot say if it was due to the actual camp songs or that I had been so close, yet unable to fully articulate my thoughts, and now it finally seemed to solidify in my mind. Regardless, it dawned on me and is why, now, I write this letter to you.
I will explain a few concepts before I articulate my answer. There is a theory in computer science called ‘lossy conversion’. It is the idea that by converting data from one form to another you permanently lose something. It may be details, information, or a critical element, but regardless something is lost. Reflecting upon my own career, I have worked and dedicated my life to Finance and Accounting. And so a very large part of what I do is convert people, and their actions, to numbers on a page. It is inelegant, dismissive, at times belittling, and I have to remind myself and my colleagues that there is always more than just cramming people into a few numbers. Yet, I continue to simplify people and their actions to a few figures on a page because to not to would overload the human mind. Which is the exact opposite of the Lair.
The Lair is a summer camp, true, but it is also a deeply personal setting. It is a place where you have to explore what to do each day, who to talk with, and how to spend your time. A place where you stop looking at your phone, where you listen to other campers and staff, and hopefully find common ground with your neighbors. It is a place, in my opinion, where someone treats you as a unique individual with your own true story, rather than a label or number. A place, I think, to be human.
I believe this paves the way for joyful memories to take hold in campers. In fact, this nugget of an idea is derived from a philosophical speech by George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, in 2013. George spoke over the difference between pleasure vs joy, two sides that make up happiness. To him, pleasure is short-lived. It is a feeling that will peak and then fade over time, in both memories and emotions. Joy, however, is more subtle in its grasp on one’s emotions. It will never peak or reach the same high as pleasure, but it will last for much much longer. As George states, “you’ll never relive the moment you got your first car… accept the fact that it’s here and it’s gone.” Joy, on the other hand, will be something you can recall, a passion you can continue to remember, and will last in one’s memories forever.
Upon reflection during Week 10, I found my answer to the magic of the Lair. I sense the Lair is a place for people to feel as if they are truly seen, a place to be unique and understood. Somewhere you can be heard and valued as a human being, and from such an environment as this, I believe the camp builds everlasting joyful memories.
In essence, the magic of the Lair is Joy. Pure, unadulterated joyful memories. So wherever you are, be it at home with family, or out with friends, I wish for you to recognize that you were a part of something so joyful. There are few and far occasions today where I myself find these crystalized moments of happiness and so, to you dear reader, I hope you can remember that you were a part of something larger, and brought a piece of your own story to the Lair of the Golden Bear. Something that cannot be valued simply with pieces of paper.
Now to wind down this long letter, I wanted to write to you simply to say thank you. Thank you for cultivating this environment, year after year, and for showing a glorified accountant the human element behind our operations. It is the campers, the staff, and the shared authenticity between all of you that generates this magic.
My hope for you is that you carry a piece of that joy with you. May you find moments to step away from the noise, to be seen as your true self, and to share lasting moments with your loved ones.
Matthew Green