Summer Camp…best times EVER!

By: Samantha S. Daviss

As a kid if you ever had the opportunity to go to summer camp, those are probably some of the best memories you ever accumulated, right? They sure were for me. I still talk to about four or five of my cabin mates, I still remember my first “real” kiss was behind the ice maker on Dance Night, and I still remember getting camp favorite…I went to my summer camp for nine summers in a row and loved every single minute of it.

Regardless of which camp you are fortunate enough to attend, it is all about the memories you make, the friends you acquire, and the lessons you learn from camp that stay with you for a lifetime.

My oldest has been going to the same camp I went to as a child for the past four summers now, and I can see in his eyes the same anticipation and excitement I got when my parents pulled my trunk down from the attic and the packing process started. It was pure elation that I got to spend another two weeks in the happiest place on earth to me, with all my best summer pals, making more memories.

Now that I am an adult, I look back on my times as a camper and realize that I learned so much more than how to swim a mile, or ride a horse, or jump on the Blob (a water activity loved by all kids). So here are a few things that I reflect on as a former camper, and what I took away from summer camp:

1.      Your clean underwear in your drawer isn’t a mysterious collaboration, that lady you call mom puts it there daily. You learn to appreciate that after two weeks of turning your undies inside out and backwards just to make it a few more days…without good ol’ mom around.

2.       The dreaded shower scene—you may think I am talking about Psycho, but I am not…I am talking about the first time you step into that group shower unit and realize that your body is light years behind all your cabin mates.

3.       Simple as it is…you make friendships and memories that truly last a lifetime.

4.       Your first crush—really did turn out to be something special. It was your first “real” kiss and that is something that stays with you forever.

5.       Washing your hair after a full day in the lake isn’t a request, it is a requirement; especially when your hair is starting to look like the seaweed at the bottom of the lake.

6.       Being selected by your fellow campers as a campfire lighter or favorite, really is a pubescent confidence enhancer and right of passage.

7.       Dance night is the most terrifying night of any pre-pubescent or pubescent’s life. You stand there wondering “Will I be asked to dance?” “Do I really have to ask her to dance?” “If we do dance do we have to touch and hold hands?” The eternal fear of every child/teenager is revealed for that hour and a half on the well-lit tennis courts.

8.       It is a must to hang your swim suit out to dry after the day’s activities, because after a few weeks at camp the mildew WILL start to grow…but always check for scorpions. A very important life lesson, as a camper.

9.       Every child needs the experience of climbing on a bus or being dropped off by mom and dad, waving good bye, and surviving on your own for at least a week. It teaches independence, confidence, and the ability to say good bye.

10.   And most importantly…as a camper you really learn you who are: Are you a nature lover or a couch potato? Do you co-exist well with other outside your family? Are you flexible and willing to go with the flow or are you more of the leader? And most importantly does this new adventure put a smile on your face every day or do you complain about all the activities and having to rise and shine early?

Summer camp, no matter how long or short of a term it is, is a blessing in so many ways. It teaches you who you are, how to manage your clean and dirty underwear situation, and it also teaches your parents how to let go a little bit too.

My favorite summer camp:
Camp Longhorn