Being With Friends

As the summer of 2006 came to an end, I realized that I just completed an experience that I would never forget.

Prior to this past summer, my time spent at camp was becoming quite monotonous and mediocre. The activities had remained the same over the last couple of years, except for the new water tramp and banana boat, and my cabin mates and camp directors, had also stayed the same.

This summer was a different story, primarily because of the "free time" my unit received at night. Several years ago I was in the Teen Unit, in which I was given no time after evening program to hang out with kids in other cabins, nor were the lights turned on for long when I returned to my cabin each night after dinner and evening program.

As part of the Senior Unit this year, my cabin mates and I were given free time until 10:00 p.m., with lights out being at 11:30 p.m. Evening program usually ended before 9:00 p.m., which gave us about an hour to hang out and create friendships with other children (both girls and boys) in the unit. From 10:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., our cabin would talk or have competitions inside the cabin. We would either have friendly fights or conduct a basketball tournament using a mini-basketball net and a mini-ball.

It is moments like these that really made my summer. Although having free time to do what you want is fun and relaxing, scheduled activities, such as shooting pop cans at riflery or getting flipped over on the banana boat, also helped create an unforgettable summer. Not to mention help create special bonds with the other people in my cabin and around camp.

This year, we received a new cabin mate, who was a little mean-spirited, yet we tried our best to make sure he had a great time. Our cabin mates had been together for four summers, and we were mature and wise enough to acknowledge new ways in which people adapt to camp. This helped create great chemistry amongst all of us.

Besides my cabin mates and the activities, it is impossible to ignore the contributions our counsellors made in creating great summertime memories. They are always there taking such great care of us and having fun.

If there is a camp that your child is interested in attending, look into the amount of free time and scheduled periods it offers. If there are too many free periods, campers won't have enough time to bond with the members of their cabin, and if there are too many scheduled-cabin periods, then campers will not be able to make friends with people in the other cabins. The camp I go to has two open periods a day, two scheduled periods a day and one swim period. Combine all of this with a little free time inside the cabin at night, and you've got a perfect recipe for an unforgettable summer.

by Harrison Jordan, 14



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