Music is like a doorway to the past; it just has a way of bringing you back in time. While I am no longer at CLTC, music has a way of letting me relive those memories as if they were yesterday.

“And when the broken-hearted people living in the world agree
There will be an answer, let it be.” – Let It Be by The Beatles.
At every meal, there would be a speaker on the table blasting music, usually older songs. Everyone would sing along while laughing with their friends. I have a vivid memory of this song playing on a sunny day at lunch. I was sitting next to my new best friend, and I felt so at peace. That moment has passed, but whenever I am having a rough day, I put this song on, and I can’t help but smile and remind myself to just “let it be.”

The most valuable thing I gained from CLTC was the friendships I made. At Havdalah and friendship circles, our song leader would always sing Count on Me. All of 3LTC would stand in one big circle, and when the lyric “You can count on me like one, two, three, I'll be there” would play, everyone would scream, “You can count on me like 3LTC and I'll be there” instead. Yes, it’s a cute play on words, but it really is so true. Whenever I need anything, the friends I made at CLTC are the ones I can always count on the most.

During chofesh, everyone would go hang out in the hammocks. Some people would sit in them, and some people would sit around them. In the background, music would play, and without fail, I would hear the lyrics “Bye, bye, Miss American Pie.” This song, American Pie, reminds me of pure joy and happiness—just me in my hammock next to my best friends, eating my blue SunChips and a Pop-Tart.

One day after lunch, my friend and I were walking back to the cabins. I had this one song stuck in my head, Sally, When the Wine Runs Out. I put it on, and I started singing. My new best friend and I started skipping past everyone, singing this song at the top of our lungs. We sang so loud and skipped so fast that we were out of breath before we made it to our cabins. Now, whenever I hear that song, it always makes me so happy and reminds me of a time when my only issue was that I couldn’t find my hoodie.

This last song holds so many memories, but I’ll only share two. On the second Saturday night, a small group of us led an oneg. Our oneg was stargazing and meditation. We had tarps set out for everyone to lay on, and the perimeter of the tarps was lit up by small candles. There were about 45 teens that we were leading the oneg for. During the oneg, we had a speaker playing music, and one of the songs that played was Rivers and Roads. This moment was so special for me because I felt so accomplished leading a program, but I also felt so at home. The community we had built there is everlasting.

My second memory with this song was on the plane ride home. I got on the plane sobbing because I had just said goodbye to all my friends. I sat in the aisle seat next to a couple who were giving me weird looks because my face was all red and puffy. I had my AirPods in, and Rivers and Roads came on. When the lyric “And my family lives in a different state” came on, I lost it and started bawling my eyes out. The people I had met became my family. The relationships I made with them are everlasting. While we are not physically together anymore, music holds memories, and those memories will be with me forever.