Camp Friends

I didn't have many friends at my high school. Actually, I didn't have any good friends at my high school. Sure, there were people that I felt comfortable sitting with at lunch, or talking to on the bus on the way to a swim meet, but the conversations never went deeper than, well, what's for lunch, or who's going to swim what event. I just never clicked with anyone that way.

But I did have camp friends that got me through high school, even if we only saw each other every few months. Even though I had never made good friends at school, something about going to camp made it so much easier.

I went to an enrichment camp (where I "studied" music) and a music camp in high school. And at both places, there were people that I met within a few days of arriving that quickly became close friends. I don't think it's just me or the camps I went to; but something about the camp setting makes people bond immediately. It was the fact that we lived together, but because it was only for a few weeks we were able to do so without driving each other totally crazy. It was because we shared the bond of music; we had different tastes in music, and played different instruments, but we still shared that common interest. It was because we had things to complain about together, like the fact that the air conditioner didn't always work, we weren't supposed to use our cell phones at all during the day, only at night (yeah, right!), and the food was horrible. It was because we could relate to each other's pain and stories. It was because we were all the same- teenage musicians wearing almost all black- and yet so different.

It was all of these things. Camp- whether it is music camp, outdoors camp, art camp, science camp, or soccer camp- brings people together. I loved going to camp, and in some ways I'd love to go back, but at the same time, I know I'm okay if I don't; while I'm considering being a counselor at a sleepaway camp some day, even if I never am a camper again myself, I still have my friends. I may be too old to be a camper, but these friends are for life.