My Summer Camp Experience
- Jamal Page
- 23 jul 2017
- 9 Min. de lectura
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to spend a few days at a summer camp located in North Carolina. Camp Grier has a summer program for boys and girls in 2nd-12th grade. A good friend of mine works as a counselor at the camp and spends time there nearly every summer. Coming from Oklahoma, I don’t have any experience with camps surrounded by rolling mountains and clear water creeks that flow behind log cabins. Actually, I don’t really have experience with summer camps at all. So when I was invited to spend two days in the forest experiencing a true camp experience I was hesitant to say the least.
I arrived on the same day the campers did except a few hours earlier. This gave me time to meet the staff and get better acquainted with the location. The staff had already been there for 6 weeks preparing the camp and working with campers the previous weeks. There was definitely a strong bond between them and walking into this atmosphere was slightly intimidating. I was the “new guy” and still had to be investigated before anyone was going to jump at the opportunity to be friends. After some brief introductions I was introduced to the camp director, Jason. For those who are unaware, (like myself) usually when someone is working with small children they are required to take a preliminary background check for safety reasons. Especially when that person is asking to spend a few days putting together a camp video and interact with the small kids. I gave Jason some of my information for this purpose and assumed I’d spend most of my stay finding a balance between volunteering and getting video opportunities.
After getting acquainted with the camp and meeting some staff members I grabbed my bags and placed them in my bunk. I was assigned to Cedar Cabin, not very far from the main camp but it definitely was in it’s own secluded area of the forest. It was a two story cabin with girls on the top floor and boys on bottom. My “survival instincts” immediately told me to scan the surrounding area for insects of all sizes. It was a staff only cabin and since campers had started arriving, all the staff was out greeting their groups. After about two hours in the cabin and seeing nobody else come in or out I decided to shut my laptop and go join the “camp experience”.
I met some other staff members who weren’t present during my initial arrival. They seemed friendly just as everyone else did yet still apprehensive about this strange guy who just showed up with a camera and a laptop. Much like the young campers who were starting to arrive for their first week at camp, I was wide-eyed and filled with more questions than answers about how the next two days would play out. I clung to my friend Morgan, the one who asked if I could volunteer at the camp, and like a lost puppy in a mass crowd I didn’t want to leave her side. I dreaded having to smile and be social with others while pretending to show interest in things I knew nothing about.
Eventually I had to break away and be an adult. One of the first activities the campers do is a sort of “welcome to camp” gathering where they introduce staff and their respective duties as well as begin teaching some camp songs that will be used frequently. During this time I felt even more awkward walking around taking random videos while people gave side glances and confused faces to which I responded with an extremely awkward smile and head nod. I just had to remind myself to focus on my videos and ignore the social tension. I was only going to be there for two days anyway while everyone else would be there for a week or more.
As soon as what I like to call “opening ceremony” was finished, we all had almost an hour of free time before dinner was served in the mess hall. Everyone seemed to know exactly where to go and what to do while I slowly walked myself back to Cedar Cabin to be alone until dinner time. After a small trek through the woods, I was starting to approach my lonely cabin. I thought it was odd how large the cabin was and yet how alone and abandoned it felt inside of it. This is when I unexpectedly heard a voice call out from behind me “Hey man, what cabin are you staying in?”. Surprised that someone had bothered to speak to me on their own accord, I snapped around quick to make sure they were in fact speaking to me. It was one of the staff members, a lifeguard for the pool, “I’m staying in Cedar” I replied. His face scrunched up with a combination of confusion and concern. “Well we’ve got a group over at Rhod if you wanna stop by later. Cedar can get a little sketchy and between you and me, there’s some weird ones staying in there”. For a brief moment I thought I was the subject of one of those classic pranks that always happen at camps. Like the kind I had seen in movies. There was no way this guy was just helping me out for no reason. What was his motive? What was the catch? “Oh really? Yeah, I was in there earlier and it looks like it’s full, but I’ve yet to see a single person come or go.” I explained to him. “Yeah man, a lot of us just put our stuff in there during staff training week and just kinda grab what we need before heading to our actual cabins. I think we’ve got a few beds open if you wanna check it out later. We’re in a cabin with campers but staff gets a room all to themselves so it’s much nicer.” Trying not to sound over eager about having my own space I replied “Okay I might stop by later, thanks man. I’m Jamal by the way.” “I’m Ethan” he said.
Fast forward to the next morning, I wake up at 6:30, look around my bunk (in Rhode) to see everyone else still sound asleep. I put away the box of flavor blasted Goldfish that I used as a pillow, grab my backpack, my camera, and slip out the door carefully so I don’t wake up Michael who had to stay up late filling out forms. It’s a brisk summer morning in the mountains. After retrieving a change of clothes from my car I began my morning jog. No, I’m not one of those people who wakes up early to get a quick run in before the day starts. I actually hate running long distances, or short distances, really any distance, but I was in a great adventurous mood and in the spirit of being a happy and productive human being I decided to wake up early for this very purpose. The previous night I had heard talk about how beautiful the camp was early in the morning. Especially the lake, with slow moving fog gently breezing over the surface of the water. I pulled the strings of my backpack tight against my body, selected my playlist and off I was.
There’s something wonderful about waking up in beautiful locations, with the freedom to see the world as you want. Maybe go for a jog, take some pictures, and jog back before breakfast is served. My cinematic brain immediately referenced several movies with the protagonist showing off his physical prowess during an opening title sequence set to a fun upbeat song. Almost like an Indiana Jones meets Captain Jack Sparrow plus Star Lord. (Yes, I’m a nerd).
I returned from my adventurous jog just in time to set my stuff back down and head to breakfast. As I casually strolled into the mess hall people were already seated and the crazy whirlwind of summer camp was already in full swing for the day. Cedric had already saved me a seat so I grabbed some orange juice and plopped down right next to him. I said hi to several others, this time with a not-so-awkward smile. Jason happened to be sitting across from me and we discussed how my stay at camp was going. He seemed pleased to hear how well I had settled in. I had memorized the schedule for the day so that I could maximize my video opportunities. Most groups would be pretty spread out across the camp doing various activities all day and I wanted to try and stop by each group to get a variety of shots done for my video. Halfway through my breakfast Morgan found me mingling with the locals. “Oh hey what’s up, watcha doin friend?” she said all bright and happy. “Nothing much! Just having some breakfast before the day starts. I’ve got a lot going on today.”
“Yeah so what exactly are your plans for the day?” she asked inquisitively. “Well I’m gonna be hitting several different groups getting some shots in. I’ll probably grab a bike from the bike shed so I can get around easier.” “Umm you know you can’t just take bikes right? That belongs to the camp and they have to assign those to people.” Annoyed by her mom-like remarks as always, I replied “Yes, Morgan, I know! Don’t worry I have a contact who can hook me up.” I said with a sly smile and walked off. I know how much this annoys her which made me even happier. Morgan and I are essentially siblings in every way especially when it comes to annoying each other beyond belief. “Wait what?! What do you mean you have a contact? Hey, don’t walk away, come back here!”
This day was the most exhausting, exciting, fearful, wonderful, spontaneous day I’ve had in awhile. This bike was my friend, we went all over camp like a lone wanderer who would pop in to see a group climbing a rock wall then roll out to catch a group at the lake. Maybe, if I felt like it, I’d swing by and see the group hiking up a trail. In this community of over 100 campers, I was the drifter who came and went. I never stayed anywhere for too long, but long enough to generate interest in myself. I went from being the weird outsider to the cool drifter who somehow had a bike, slept in Rhode Cabin, went anywhere he wanted, did anything he wanted and was always above reproach because well… I was just a big mystery still.
In the interest of trying to get a cool shot or capture something at a better angle, I put myself in dangerous places just for the sake of a cool video. I climbed things I thought I’d never climb, I biked to places that only seasoned mountain bikers attempted to go to, I spoke to everyone as if they were my friends, even if we had just met and, most importantly, I carried around a big fancy camera that made me seem like a real professional. By the end of the day, I was sitting in the cabin with 4 other staff members as they all discussed things about their day. Every so often I’d have people handing me their email addresses and saying “Hey can you send me that video” or “Hey can you send me that photo you took”. To them, I was a real professional videographer. I tried to contain my excitement because just yesterday I was a guy with a camera and no clue what he was doing at a summer camp in the mountains of North Carolina.
Finally, came the morning I was scheduled to leave. I spent the morning eating breakfast with the group that Morgan was in charge of. A small group of girls who had kind of became my friends over the two days. That day, their group was scheduled to go on an overnight hike and were leaving right after breakfast. We all goofed around as they teased me about stuff and would steal my Captain America drink container. I teased them back and played along. I was interrupted once again by someone who had written down their email address and given it to me. “Whoah, did Jamal just get someone’s number?! What was that?!” they all laughed and giggled. “Ah, well, you guys told me to go make friends!” Eventually, breakfast was over and it was time to say our goodbyes. I said bye to Morgan, not knowing when I’d get the chance to see my annoying sister again. In my cabin I said bye to the rest of the group I had become familiar with. Time moves differently in camp. I had been there for a little over 48 hours and yet there was already so many memorable moments between us. It had felt like a week instead of two days. We shared late nights together, handled rouge rattlesnakes, spontaneous wrestling matches outside in the pouring rain. We had joked about others and discussed music preferences. Even near death experiences and scary ghost stories.
I had made friends at camp and it wasn’t until I was packing up the car that I then realized what camp is really about. It’s about growth, friendship, sharing memories that create bonds between two individuals. Having random adventures or sneaking out at night after the campers are asleep to go to the one spot on camp that has good cell service. They had offered to let me stay for the whole week and whenever it came time for me to leave I seriously considered staying. I didn’t want to leave, not really. This was a good place, a friendly place. Where people extend an open invitation to the new guy. Where they take him in as one of their own. I walked into that camp thinking I have no room in my heart to make new friends. I just spent the last 6 months making friends that I’ll have for the rest of my life. I don’t have time to be friends with these people for just two days. I’m proud to say I was wrong. Camp can truly be a wonderful experience. Especially at Camp Grier.
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