This is going to be the best summer ever.
I’m aware that’s a pretty bold statement, but let me tell you why I think this is going to be the best summer ever. This summer I’m going off the grid. And, by off the grid, I mean that I’m going to be spending about 2 months without technology - no television, no computer, and most importantly, no phone – which these days should be considered off the grid.
I’ll be honest with you all. I wasn’t always this excited about going “tech-free” for the summer. In fact, I was against the idea at first. Why would I, a technology dependent college-aged millennial, want to spend my summer in isolation from all of my friends and the rest of the world? How could I possibly survive without knowing what all of them were doing through Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat? Thinking about that question again now almost makes me cringe. With technology, I am living in a constant state of being afraid of missing out, which is actually causing me to “miss out”. I’m so concerned with what everyone else is doing that I’m not living to better myself and my own life.
So I made the best decision I’ve made in a long time and I accepted a position as a summer camp counselor at a camp located on Huntington Lake in the Sierra Nevadas called Gold Arrow Camp.
“In our beautiful setting on Huntington Lake, in the heart of the Sierra National Forest, campers have a chance to enjoy a traditional outdoor camp, complete with rustic living and nightly campfires and getting ‘unplugged’. Boys and girls ages 6-14 make fun, lifelong memories at our California summer camp while participating in activities like wake boarding, horseback riding, and rock climbing.”
Having gone to GAC as a camper, I had gone "unplugged" before, but only for the two week session. But two months? That's a little bit longer. However, I couldn't help but look back at the memories and lifelong friends I made at camp and realize that the lack of technology was an essential part of the that process. Faces smile a little easier when they're not glued to the television. The stars shine a little brighter when the light from phones aren't around to hide them. And there really isn't anything better than getting a letter from the people who love you.
So I go unplugged in almost two weeks and, it might be hard, but, honestly, I can't wait.
This is going to be the best summer ever.
