For my letter, I wrote to my older cousin Billy. Although I saw him occasionally on holidays and Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, we were never close when I was younger. However, that all changed when my aunt and his mom convinced me to try sleep away camp. This was my first time I was away from my family. Although having no friends going into to the summer, I wasn’t alone; I had my cousin Billy. He stepped up and acted as an older brother to me. He constantly checked in with me, showed me around, and made sure I was always having a good time. Many years later he became my counselor (with the upper staff not knowing he was my cousin). Through this experience he gave me my best summer at camp and I got super close to him. Therefore I wrote my gratitude letter to him because he helped guide me through my summers at camp to help me love it as much as he did.