by Neal Levin
"Camp is like life," my counselor told me the
summer I was homesick. "The more you get involved, the more you'll
get out of it."
So what did I do? I got involved.
And sure enough, I got my share of sunburns and mosquito bites, along
with the unique experience of witnessing a raccoon steal my Mackinac
Island fudge in the middle of the night.
Of course camp has provided far more pleasurable experiences or I wouldn't
have kept coming back summer after summer. I've put in over twenty-five
years so far at Michigan summer camps as both a camper and staff member.
And during that time, I realized that although camp may be a lot like
life, it is also quite different.
Camp provides a pleasant recess from the rush and rumble of the ordinary
world. The fast-paced, blaring hassles and pressures are replaced by
gentle breezes and sunsets over a pristine lake.
Okay, there's also no air conditioning, and limited Internet,
and the nearest gas station is a ten-mile drive. But that's the
true beauty: getting away.
As great as summer camp is for me as a grownup, it's even more
valuable for a child. In a world where college preparation starts earlier
than ever, and children are constantly overstressed and overscheduled,
life becomes too serious too quickly. The traditional summer camp experience
lets kids slow down and take it easy, all in a safe and nurturing environment,
while learning new skills and making friends.
It's not every morning you get to tumble out of bed in a sweatshirt
that still smells like campfire smoke. It's not every afternoon
you get to paint your face and body brilliant colors and splash it all
off in the lake. It's not every evening you get to dance and scream
during dinner. True, you probably wouldn't want to do these things
at home, but at camp this is cool. Camp is different.
Camp is a place where a fellowship develops somewhat randomly. A boy
from Florida, a girl from Mexico, a counselor from England. Suddenly
you're growing up with people from around the world. The one thing
you all have in common is camp.
Sitting on your cabin porch late in the evening, chatting about everything
and nothing at all, is more engrossing than watching all the latest DVDs
combined. And at that moment when you can actually hear the coyote howling
in the distance, the thoughts of homework, report cards, and cell phone
conversations are the farthest things from your mind.
"Our life is frittered away by detail . . . simplify, simplify," wrote
Henry David Thoreau in Walden, his memoir of living in the woods. The
camp I work at today—also called Walden—embraces that philosophy
and encourages people to slow down, explore possibilities, and cooperate
rather than compete, all in an environment that sanctifies nature.
Yes, camp is different from the ordinary world. The air is fresher.
The stars shine brighter. The laughter is more joyous.
Time even goes just a little more slowly, and, if you're lucky,
you can almost feel it stop for a split-second. Then you realize how
fortunate you are to be in a place where the greatest hardship is that
you can't flush the toilets if the power goes out, and the most
serious scandal is who stole the wake-up bell so you wouldn't get
up in time in the morning.
And eventually, you realize that the saddest part isn't being
homesick at the beginning, but not wanting to leave at
the end.
But that doesn't matter, because the memories will last a lifetime.
Ah, if only life were more like camp.
Originally published in the 2007 March/April
issue of Camping Magazine. |
