Summer Camps

During the summer, teens and kids prefer to take a vacation that requires a plane and a large bag of luggage. Nobody wants to stay cooped up in their homes for the entire summer vacation. In past blogs I have said how I always travel to New York during the summer for two weeks. I am lucky to have the chance to go up to the Adirondacks with my family. Unfortunately, there are families where the parents need to work all throughout the summer, and don’t have the time to take their kids on a vacation. There is a simple solution to the problem. Teens and kids all remember their experiences at summer camps. Camps are a great way for kids to meet other people, receive fresh air and to get out of the house. For me, the camps I have gone to gave me the best memories I have.

There are a large variety of camps. The time spans that camps may take up in the summer vary greatly. Some of them are for the entire summer (4-5 weeks) and there are other camps that may last for one week and for only half a day (9am-12pm or 1pm-4pm). What camps offer for kids also varies depending on the camp. There are camps for sports, drama, arts and crafts, and so may others. Another characteristic of summer camps that changes frequently are there locations. Camps exist all throughout the world. Teens probably prefer to go to sleep away camps far away form their parents, whereas little kids prefer the day camps right down the street in their town. I have gone to camps in my town, in other towns nearby, and in a different state. When considering a camp, you should take into account these basic factors, location, time, and specialization, to ensure a memorable experience.

Personally, I have gone to so may camps, it’s hard to remember the ones that I went to when I was three and four. After that though, I can remember every camps that I went to, whether I liked it or hated it. These are the four camps that I loved the most so far, but I am also going to include my worst experience at the camp.

Throughout ages 7 through 10, I was involved in Girl Scouts. When you are a girl scout, there was a camp in Ashland specifically just for Girl Scouts. I really wanted to go to that camp, but I wasn’t keen on going to it alone. So, I convinced my good friend at the time to come with me. This was a camp that offered all sorts of activities, not just one specific one. I don’t really remember my first year going there, but my last two I remember clearly. I was involved in the “Horse Lovers” camp that they offered. Of course it included swimming, hiking, and having fun with crafts, but for four days out of the two five day weeks we went to a horse barn. Ill admits it, I really wasn’t a huge horse fan, but my friend was, so I decided to go with her. Also, I was just a little bit scared of horses, especially when riding them. So of course they assign me to the biggest horse in the whole barn, and I was completely freaking out. They had to basically drag me on to the horse, but once I was on, I swear, the horse began trying to pull me off over its head by biting on the reins that my hands firmly grasped. That was the end of my horse riding interests. Other than that experience, I really enjoyed Girl Scout camp. Any young Girl Scout would find it to be a great experience, as I found it to be.

I was also interested in acting when I was younger. So my parents signed my up for Washington Street Players, an acting camp. I found that I really enjoyed being in a play, especially if I was the main character. I was really good at memorizing things, so I had my lines down in little time. I even began to memorize everyone else’s lines. I guess I took that too seriously, because throughout the play at the end of camp, I was whispering the lines that the other kids had forgotten to them. Also, I didn’t leave all my acting skills on the stage. I guess that they followed me to my house, and my parents would get really angry with me. I embarrassed myself by trying to be the boss on stage and then acting like a “drama queen” at home. So that ended my acting career. Although it didn’t work out for me, any one who loves the theater would enjoy going to this camp.

Just a year or two ago, I when to a sailing camp run by our Recreational Department. The sailing was done on the Hopkinton town reserve lake. I went with a good friend of mine, and we had a blast. We learned how to set up the sailboat, by assembling the sails and rudder??? We were taught how to tie certain knots and how to control the sailboat based on the direction that the wind is blowing. I thought it was really cool how you can tell which way the wind is going by looking at the small “waves” in the water. It was so exciting (and scary) to be in control of the sailboat and gliding over the open water. The dumbest action my friend and I did, was when we were both in the sailboat, we would switch off on who gets to sit on the bow of the boat. We even held on to the bow lines and leaned over the edge above the water. I know, stupid…but extremely fun. I know I said that I would include my worst experience, but I really didn’t have one. I guess I could say that my worst experience was when I was in the sailboat all by myself for the first time. I was turning around, when a big gust of wind came. My sailboat was almost capsized (flipped upside down). That was probably the scariest part of the camp. I loved sailing camp, and I would go to another one in a heart beat.

There are camps that can peak your interest, and then there are camps that you have no interest in at all. The Sarah Behn Basketball camp was the first serious basketball camp that I went to. I had done small basketball clinics, but this was completely different. The camp taught players offensive and defensive skills. It was a camp that included all basketball aspects. Meaning, it wasn’t a camp just for posts or guards. At this camp I made some good friends from different towns and became better friends with the girls that I had been in school with. The camp was fun and entertaining, but it also made you work hard and achieve your personal goals. One time, we were using hurtles to work on our quickness. We weren’t in the gym, so the hurtles were placed on the tiles of the schools lobby. The tiles didn’t prevent the hurtles from moving, in fact, it was a surface that allowed for the hurtles to slide over it. So when I went, I stepped on one of the hurtled close to the middle and went flying across the lobby. Not only did I ruin the rest of the hurtles in my path, but it was pretty embarrassing slipping in front of everyone. I have to credit this camp for giving me a better understanding of basketball, and convincing me that this was the sport I was most interested in.

From my personal experiences, you can tell that the affect that camps have on you (positive or negative), impact your future. I obviously am not going to be a horseback rider or an actress, but I still enjoy playing basketball and going sailing. Everyone has certain interests, now the tricky part is finding the camp that fits to a “t”. Once you find a certain camp that you love, summer vacations can become a lot more interesting and memorable.

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