I have been going to summer camps for most of my life. While I went to those camps, I learned a lot of skills through friendships and memories.

Each camp is different when it comes to the staff and the activities that may go on. However, there are common themes that make summer camp a must for kids.

Camp is an opportunity to develop and learn a variety of social skills and life skills they can use later on in life. Not only can they learn friendship by making friends, but they can also learn teamwork.

Since campers are free to be themselves, they gain more confidence in themselves. Also, since the kids are independent, they have a chance to speak up for themselves. At camp, not only do you make friends, but you also learn what true character building is.

At summer camp, campers make friends whether it’s from their cabin or from another cabin. For some campers, it may be hard to make friends. Friendships are bound to be built at camp and to make memories and experiences that last a lifetime.

Here, friendships can be made from arts and crafts making friendship bracelets, to being a part of a team in sports. Unlike school where kids get bullied easily, camp is a safe environment for campers to make lifelong friends. All the fun that happens at camp like singing and laughing draws everyone together. Camp creates friendships.

At camp, campers get to open up and be themselves without the fear of being judged or bullied. Author Michael Thompson writes on the Huffington Post that when a child is on their own, their experience is their's alone, and the satisfaction belongs only to them. They do not have to filter it through what his parents think or feel. They get to do what they want to do at camp because, in the end, it is their life, their choice.

Camp is different than school or home. Therefore, it gives campers an opportunity to adapt to a new environment that is different than their everyday lifestyles. Not only are they not with their parents, but they also have, according to universities.ca, some factors that make children worry about summer camp are the "challenge of adjusting to a new physical and social environment, the logistics (or known as the “what-do-I-dos) and the pre-planned activities.”

Camp is an opportunity for a child to learn to adapt to new situations and problem solve.

Camp is also an opportunity to disconnect from the world around them and instead appreciate nature and what’s around them. It enables them to be more open to their surroundings.

The outdoors is a good way for kids to get a new perspective on the world. Since the outdoors is part of nature, camp promotes a lot of physical activity and a lot of sunshine, which helps generates Vitamin D.

In today's society, kids spend less time outdoors due to the technology we have such as smartphones, tablets and laptops. Camp disconnects them from society and their technology and brings them to nature in s safe and fun environment.

Unlike the popular app "Pokemon Go," where players catch digital creatures, summer camp is a safe way to make friends and have fun.

When kids take a break from technology, they rediscover their creative power and engage in the real world, as said by Rockbrook camp. People are willing to open up to new ideas if they are not addicted or restricted.

Plus, campers have staff at hand. They don’t need their phones everywhere they go. While the kids are disconnected from their world of technology, they get to connect with people in the real world while being connected to nature. Camp disconnects from their world and reconnects them to nature.

With all the different activities that camp has to offer, the camper has an opportunity to learn something new while trying something new. Kids might be scared to try something new at first, but with a lot of encouragement and nurturing at camp, campers can overcome fears and various setbacks.

At the same time, the campers get to learn independence to problem solve and make choices on their own. Camp gives the campers choices to overcome their fears and challenges.

Camp is an opportunity for your child to get away from their everyday lifestyles and make new friends and try new things.

With all the campfires, the activities, the laughter, the pranks you pulled on the camp, the random singing and screaming across camp dancing with your friends at the camp dance and the squad you were with made you want to do it all over again, whether you are a camper or a counselor.

Everybody has different experiences at camp, whether it is learning a new skill or meeting a new friend.

Camp isn't a daycare or a vacation. It's an experience of a lifetime!