Going to a all girls camp was something that I never thought would be an experience that I would thoroughly enjoy. I had visions from the movie, ‘Mean Girls’ running wild in my head! Would ‘the plastics’ rule the camp? Would the counselors who have been going for years even give me the time of day? Would they understand me with my accent? Would the talent show be girls dressed up in crazy attire singing 90’s classics? Well, luckily my camp experience was nothing like the movies! Minus singing “Spice Up Your Life” at the talent show, I do a mean Crazy Spice impression.
First off, the notion of popularity fizzles away while you are under your own camp bubble. If you want to wear a outfit that clashes, all the power to you girl! Or if your mom packed you your colorful scrunchies and halloween costume as a joke, you will be the hit of the talent show and any cabin dress up event. Being at an all girls camp, the main focus is on having fun, trying new things, and making friends. Yes of course, there is some drama now and again, when Sissy took Brianna’s book without asking, but these situations can easily be sorted out with a chat and mutual understanding.
The other great thing about being at a single sex camp is that all of the pressure of impressing a love interest isn’t there. My girl campers can be as goofy, wild, crazy as they want, or to a point, and there is no peer pressure of if young Johnny looked at her or not. It’s a wonderful time for the campers to let their personality and individuality shine through. To be honest, it’s not only the campers who are being themselves, I know that I have grown and become more attuned to the moment, instead of what others maybe thinking about me.
The girls do have contact with the boys, as there is a boys camp just right across the lake. So every Friday night we have a co-ed dance, where we can boogie down to our heart’s content. But normally it’s all of my girl campers in a circle bopping along to the latest One Direction song, while the boys are in their own cluster. So they get to giggle and talk about what young Johnny is wearing, but at the end of the day the girls still dance around the cabin singing their hearts out to their hair brushes. It’s a great summer experience and one that I will truly cherish forever, my friends and memories will absolutely last a lifetime.