While we mourn the festivities of the summer, let’s take the time to acknowledge the timeless and effervescent experience that is summer camp.
Dating back to the 19th century, summer camp has evolved at the hand of the youthful and carefree adolescents that take it on. There has been an unspoken fun discovered that goes far past the surface of typical camp activities, such as sports and games, shared among the attending members.
Student Jeanne-Imani Fischer, who attends camp regularly every summer, says summer camps build long connections. .
“I’d say it was something deeper – more like being with the people there and the connections with the other campers.” Junior Jeanne-Imani Fischer, who attends Camp Stevens (Christian sleepaway camp) says.
Summer camp has fostered generations of adolescent development, supporting growth among the campers. “You learn it at summer camp,” many adults quote, whether it be a lesson you learn through an activity, or a random moment of serendipity.
Isabella Rose Greene is a senior this year, and she has been attending camp since she was a child. Now, she works there, and her perspective has been given to us.
“Summer camp is such a formative experience for so many kids…” senior Isabella Rose Greene of Palms Park Day Camp says.
Additionally, some camps are programs that are actually set up through school, giving students an exceptional learning experience by taking them abroad to learn new things. Junior Molly Schrieber has this experience under her belt, traveling to Belize this past summer in pursuit of an educational experience.
“I think it’s really important for development, especially being away from parents and people that you know, and being in a different environment” Schreiber of the ARCC (Adventures Rolling Cross-Country) travel abroad program says.
Despite all the literal lessons you learn from, there’s something so uniquely special from learning in unconventional ways, even without intending to. You find this in relationships you build with others, and even in a newfound relationship built within yourself.
Looking back upon various pieces of media, we recall plenty of iconic movies set at camp. Some remarkable examples include The Parent Trap (from 1961 and 1998), Meatballs (1979), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), and Addams Family Values (1993), just to name a few. With all the pranks and gags pulled in these hilarious classics, we are left wondering what truth lies in the fiction? Depending on the camp, altering experiences have been gathered from peers. Most highschoolers reported somewhat dully, but others shared mildly impressive incidents.
Intrigued, I wondered if the parent generation (Gen X) had crazier stories due to the lack of restraints in contrast to the security our generation received growing up. I brought it up with my mom, who was a highly remarked camper, and attended camp during what I would consider as its prime.
“Oh we pulled a lot of pranks… There was this one time they took us into town, and we found a kitten that I ended up smuggling into our cabin – I named him Fisbo! I was kind of a legend..” Gen X parent (my mom) Adrienne Cohen Isom, legacy camper of 5 different camps says.
However, after questioning my mom on her time spent at camp, information has been presented that contrasts from the modern experience.
“It was like Lord of the Flies,” Isom says. “Whatever kind of punishment they gave us, it was nothing, because it wasn’t our parents. I used to lead adventures in the night – we’d put on our moccasins and sneak into the boys’ camp.”
After hearing about these misadventures, ideas are introduced that teens today are strangers to. And these stories, ones we’ve never even experienced, still continue to evoke that reminiscent and longing feeling in a spectrum of generations alike. Why is it that we miss what we never had?
As someone who has never been to camp and feels strongly about this, I interviewed another person who struggles with this to see whether it’s an individual experience or shared experience.
“I guess I’m regretful” Junior Kit Holzer says, who has never gone to camp.
It appears that FOMO is a common occurrence among the crowd of teens that never got the opportunity to go to summer camp. Now, most high school students are too old to attend in the same way they would’ve a few years before, solely for the experience and not for work. Emotions among students can be conflicting.
Meanwhile, the emotions that a variety of campers associate with camp are a collection of mixed responses. A couple words given are relaxed, energy, bored, longing, and adventure, and fun.
Parting with camp can be tough but reaffirming, welcoming folks back as changed people, but ultimately making every second spent at camp worth it. From the friends to the flings, the counselors and CITs, kids are shaped in ways that will carry them through adulthood.
See you next summer!
