Coming to college is a change for sure. For some, it is the first time they live away from their parents. Or it is the first time sharing a living space with a non-family member. Or it is the first time eating in a dining hall. This transition is incredibly shaking and jarring for some.
As a Resident Assistant at the University of New Haven, I have witnessed some students go home the very first day they come to campus, not being able to cope with the transition. Yet, I did not face any of these challenges. Even when I was a freshman, I was never bothered by having to wear sandals in the shower, walk shirtless down the hall to the shower, and never went home aside from holidays. Not once did I get homesick. Thinking back on it all, the relative ease of my transition can be attributed to one thing: camp.
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For eleven years I went to sleep away camp. Surprise Lake Camp, nestled in the Hudson Valley Mountains, was my home away from home for eleven summers. First going the summer after first grade, I spent two months living in a cabin with a dozen other boys and our counselor. We had all the classic camp activities: swimming in our beautiful lake, hiking the pristine mountains, sports, rock climbing, and more important than anything else, we had the wonderful people who cared about us, both fellow campers and staff.
Being isolated from the world for two months really helps one grow, as without too much outside influence, one can discover who they truly are in the natural state. At camp, wealth did not matter. Everyone was there to have fun and fun is what we had. Without parents affecting our judgements, we learned what type of people we wanted to be through our actions at different activities, whether it was helping to clean the bunk or supporting our fellow bunk mates at the camp Olympics. Through that, bonds were formed, many of which I have kept alive a decade later.
Because camp was all about bringing out the best in people, no one cared when I, a chubby 12 year old, walked from the bunk outside into the woods where and down a rocky hill to get to the wash-house, wearing nothing but a towel. Of course, some boys would tease others, but at camp that teasing was not taken personally, as no one had any reason to hold any true ill will. In the cabins, I learned to keep my belongings in my corner of the room. There was an unspoken trust that no one would take another’s possessions, as we were all there for each other. Regarding the food, you pretty much ate whatever the dining hall made and did not have any other options.
Coming to college, I did not expect I would be living in a hotel. I figured the dorm experience would be not too unlike the camp experience. I found I was quite right. I had to wear sandals in the shower, had to walk down the coed hallway wrapped in just my towel, and often had limited choice as to what to have for dinner. This never bothered me, and in many ways, I felt like I was back at camp. Compared to several other students who had anxiety attacks and depression from being independent, I always fared just fine.
Camp instills a sense of independence. Though one is not fully independent, it is up to you what to wear, how to arrange your cabin, what to eat from the options you have, and most importantly, how to interact with people. Surprise Lake Camp was a Jewish sleepaway camp, yet any sleepaway camp will give these skills. Whether it’s a scouting camp, a drum corps camp, or an environmental camp, being at camp was one of the cornerstones into making me who I am today. For this reason I never had homesickness at college. This relative ease of transition for me has helped me gain a thorough understanding of the residential life, which in turn helped me procure the job of RA. No other job has been nearly as rewarding, as in this role I help those who have not had such an easy transition.
I’ll never forget those summers spent around that beautiful lake: so care free, so innocent. I have changed immensely since I’ve been a camper, as I am now an adult, and while not fully independent, I have financial and professional concerns. Yet, camp gave me the confidence where I could be myself and these life skills will be incredibly important in the real world. How I long to go back to Surprise Lake Camp and spend another summer there. But, as long as camp’s independence is kept in my heart and mind, I will never forget those summers and what they meant to me.
