Today we welcome Reagan (also known as Pocket-watch at camp!) from Troop 2249 to share a bit of her camp experience as a Girl Scout through the years.
I have been in Girl Scouts since I was a Daisy and have been going to Camp Sycamore Hills for both camporees and summer camp since I was a Brownie. In the last few years of going to camp, I’ve always had an amazing time. Of course, there are ups and downs, but that’s all part of the fun. What’s camping without a challenge? At camp, you learn several new skills, overcome fears, escape from the pressures of the real world, and especially make new friends and memories to cherish for years to come. I highly recommend any girl come and see it for themselves. It’s my hope that anyone who reads this decides to join in on the fun! It’d be a shame to miss out.
I don’t recall much from my early years of camp other than how it made me feel. When I was younger, I lacked confidence and was very insecure; but when I would go to camp, it felt as though this weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Although I was still insecure, I felt a change – I felt happier. The counselors were always looking out for me. The fresh air and the feeling of being free and out in the open instead of being stuck at home was probably the thing that attracted me the most. I felt, and still feel, safe at camp, both mentally and physically.
This past summer, I attended camp for three weeks in a row. My first two weeks were for an internship and job training, and my third week was spent as a CIT (Counselor-In-Training). This year was different from all the others because of the dynamics between counselor and intern/CIT, but it was still just as fun regardless. I had more freedom and learned how to maintain self-responsibility, became closer with some other counselors I’ve known since I was younger, practiced leadership and communication skills, and, of course, made some fun memories. I remember befriending most of the CITs the second week of my internship and during our downtime before bed, we hung up hammocks inside of our cabin and tried to sleep in them. Although we managed to hang up the hammocks, they were too scrunched up to comfortably sleep in them. But, hey! It was still totally worth it.
That’s obviously not the limit for the strange things that go down at camp because the opening and closing campfires can get wacky because of the skits. For my first week of interning, the staff had given out toothbrushes. We decided to incorporate that into our skit made an infomercial about the Twinkle Tooth Toothbrush, which was our name we came up with. Although I wish I could’ve somehow taken a video, only the memory of it remains. For our second week of my internship, we came up with the Apocarena, which is a disease that spreads the Macarena dance. It could only be cured if all the “diseased” interns sang and performed the Macarena at the same time. Don’t worry, we were all cured… At least, that I know of!
During my third week, I remember staying up late with a girl from my troop, Haasen (her camp name), just braiding hair, talking, and playing with some play dough my mother had sent. Although we didn’t go on any adventures, it was still a chance to get to know one of the girls in my troop that I’ve never been that close of friends with. If it weren’t for camp, we probably would’ve never gotten as close as we did that week.
Basically, GO TO CAMP! I’m not trying to advertise; I’m trying to make sure as many girls as possible get to have the opportunity to have as good a time as I and many other girls do. Well, I guess I am advertising. An advertisement for fun? Unending laughter? Amazing food? Weird skits and funny memories? If you’re looking for a chance to let go and enjoy life for little bit and try new things, it’s all worth it. After all, “Never be afraid to try something new, because life gets boring when you stay within the limits of what you already know.” – Unknown
