Crazy at Camp

Camp America Long Point Camp

The other night I stood on stage in court, talking to a judge, accompanied by a jury of my peers, on charge for stealing a golf cart. If found guilty, my punishment would be to have pasta salad poured all over my head. As I protested and pleaded my innocence in front of 200+ screaming campers, and the 100 or so other staff who have come to be friends over the past few weeks, it struck me that, camp is such an amazing environment. I think it’s great to be yourself and live how you want, and at camp, being yourself and a little bit crazy is actually required and rewarded! That is something you get in very few other environments, and something many people who are reserved and hide behind a character they are trying to be, never experience. But, even if shy at first, a summer camp will break down your boundaries, and you will have fun in ways you never imagined. That is something truly amazing about spending a summer at camp!

Illustrating this point, also, this summer I have been pushed off the dock and into the lake by a gang of pirates, because my team’s short play was too poor for the judges.

I have competed in a talent show to be the camp superhero – clad in 20 pairs of t-shirts, a variety of shorts and hats, and wearing a hiking boot alongside a flip-flop, I strutted down the catwalk as Captain Indecisive, unable to decide what clothes to wear! I showed off his talent – too indecisive to choose merely one, I juggled. While skateboarding. While eating. While yodelling. 

I have also stood on the diving board, poised ready for action. My campers cheer me on, but I zone out – I know what I need to do. The time for action has arrived. Just do it! Pain is temporary, glory is forever. I am competing for a coveted position on the ‘Bellyflop Wall of Fame’. I brace during the brief moment as I fall through the air. Then the impact comes. It stings. My entire body feels like it’s been hit by a car. As my name gets written on the wall, the redness in my chest becomes my reward, something to be proud of.

 

So yeah, that’s one reason why I love camp!

Leave a Reply