All Dat' Camp Stuff

So, I just wrote a post about how rad camp is, but I have some special memories that I don't want to forget about. 

When I was an LC we did a devotion* amongst the twenty of us about what our biggest obstacle is that we've overcome. Luckily, I didn't have to go first, because it's hard to come up with something like that off the top of your head. What I eventually came to though was my dad's death, which is still pretty painful to talk about, especially at that point. You see, this was an emotional devotion, one that had quite a few of us in tears, including myself. Obstacles are tough after all. But the reason that it's so special is because even though a ton of us were crying, we were all supporting one another. Both of the girls sitting beside me helped me through it by holding me and a ton of people were doing the same, and it was just one of those great experiences when you know that everyone around you totally supports you and that you return that support to them and it's just a super fantabulous bonding experience. 

Another time as an LC about ten of us snuck off one night and camped out an the beach. While it's not specifically stated that we couldn't do that, we figured that it probably wouldn't be best if we got caught doing it. We grabbed our sleeping bags and pillows and camped out on the outer reaches of camp in the older girls' devision because they were all gone on trips, so we knew we would be alone out there. We looked at the stars, played truth or dare, and basically just did girl things and it was just totally relaxing. We set alarms so that we would wake up before the bell so that no-one would notice that we'd been gone, and it was a really fun night. 

Yet another LC story. So, during first session** we always have a couple of bonfires, and it's LC tradition that we do a song. It's more of a chant really, and as we complete a line, we all take off a layer of clothing (you decide as a group how many layers to wear beforehand). The thing is, you have to stay completely serious the whole time you do it, so no laughing, which is one of the hardest things ever, especially since other people are. You go until you're down to bra and underwear (although I suppose you could wear a bathing suit too) and then everyone runs screaming down to the lake sand jumps in (the campfire is really close to it, so everyone sees this happen). It's a fun time :)

Last year was interesting. I had one cabin that was pretty rough (my co-co*** and I had to deal with a lot of problems) but my cabin after them totally make up for that. I had the second groups of kids for a month, and they were super fantabulous. They loved my goofiness, which was great, any they were super goofy in return. They were always up-beat and good for any activity we wanted to do. Basically the easiest cabin that I've ever had. A bunch of them wrote train letters**** to each other, and even had ones for my co-co and I. The letters area ll super sweet, and one of them even told me that I was the best counselor ever, and not to tell my co-co that they said that. One of those campers (she was one of my favorite, even though you shouldn't have those) even sent me a letter around Christmas and it was a super nice one (she even made me a bracelet that she sent in it). They were the coolest kids ever. 

One night I was on RAT Patrol***** with one of my friends, and we snuck some of our treats out on patrol with us and just sat around and talked. It was actually from her that I learned most of the camp gossip that I talked about in my last post. I was amazed. She also introduced me to the musician Watsky****** that night through one of his slam poetry poems that she had with her. That was a nice night, and we had no camper drama to deal with at all, which made the night even better. 

Also, last year, I came face to face with the something that only two whole people know about. And with the fact that it was okay. 

My LC year is when campers from first and second session meet for rely the first time, and things don't always go well. My year though, we got along fantastically, and I met people that became some of my closest friends that I hadn't known before that month. 

All of this isn't to say that I haven't had bad things happen when I was at camp, it's just that all of the good memories tend to drown those out. Camp is just one of those super-special places I guess. 

TheFabKid

Sorry for another monster of a post. I just tend to have a lot to say about camp. 

* Devotion is where, every night, amongst a cabin, a question is picked and everyone has to answer it, both campers and counselours. The reason we do it is to promote trust and bonding amongst the campers. You see, it's a completely judge-free zone where you can answer anything and nobody can laugh at you. It also helps if you're having problems in your cabin to deal with them during devotion.

** There are two month-long sessions per summer, with both four and two-week cabins happening during each. Most counselors get two two-week cabins and one month-long cabin per summer. 

*** Co-co is an endearment most of us use, and it's short for co-counselour. 

**** In case you've never heard of them, train letters are letters that you write to friends who are leaving for them to read on their way back home. They're usually full of nice things you have to say about the other person, and they always make me cry (emotional sap that I am). 

***** RAT Patrol is where two counselors get assigned to each of the four divisions every night to watch over the campers fro two hours while the rest of the counselors get a break. You have to wait until one counselor from each cabin gets back, which can take forever at the send of the session because the counselours have a lot of responsibilities to take care of.  

****** Watsky is this super rad artist that you all should check out, and this is the poem that she showed me. It's fucking fabulous (I think). Watsky is also the first person I saw in concert.