The Importance of Summer Camps

There is something special about going to a summer camp. For the few weeks that you are there, you are offered the opportunity to see the world from a different perspective. Empty parking lots topped with broken glass are replaced with fields of grass and trees. You stay in the mountains, or somewhere without cell reception and limited internet connection. Suddenly there's a disconnect with the outside population, but at the same time a strong connection is formed between nature, the sky, the weather, the people around you. Being at camp creates a closeness to the world.

Teenagers living in an urban environment don't often get the chance to experience nature, especially during the school year. When summer break roles around, they jump at the opportunity to relax and blow off steam. Being surrounded by nature has been proven to be a powerful stress reliever.

The summer camp that I attend every year has become my favorite place in the world. It is the only place I have been to where I can walk through a thick fog in the morning, sun bathe on a dock in the middle of a lake at noon, run through the rain in the afternoon, and lay out and see the stars, and some meteors, at night.

The memories I have made at camp are ones that I'll always think of as the best of my childhood. The friends that I share them with are some of my favorite people. Though we come from different places in the country, and only have a small amount of time together each year, I have made closer bonds with some of them than I have with friends from home.

When we come together for that time in the summer, and haven't spoken all year except for the occasional texts, or sometimes letters, we tell each other about all of the exciting things that have happened to us since we last saw each other. We don't usually talk about unhappy things. Just good stories. There's lots of laughter, and jokes, and for that period of time, the world seems truly good. With trees, and mountains, and a lake all stretching out in front of me, my worries don't matter.

Everyone should experience that feeling.