For some people, when they picture camping, they envision the picturesque views, laughing around a campfire, while spending time in the great outdoors. I, however, do not see these things. Rather I think about the mosquito bites that itch for weeks after you get them, sleeping on the hard ground trying desperately to get comfortable and overall boredom. Now don't get me wrong, I love being outside, and I don't mind spending a day camping. But once it reaches nighttime, I am just fine with going back to my own house, spending time inside.
A lot of my extended family loves to camp, but my parents had never really been into the whole "spending time outdoors", which may play a part into my distaste of camping. It wasn't something that I did as a child, so there are no fond memories that create some sort of nostalgia with camping. The only thing my brother and I did together that came remotely close to camping, was setting up a tent in the backyard and sleeping in it for a night.
I have a hard time seeing how people are able to go and camp for a week straight, and not die of boredom. A lot of what it seems is just sitting at the campsite, and every once in a while going out and doing an activity of some kind. I could see doing this for a day, maybe two days, but anything after that just seems mad. When I recently went out camping for a day, I was bored within a few hours. Nobody wanted to play a game, there wasn't much to explore at the campsite, and crossword puzzles are only interesting for so long. I am someone who has somewhat of a short attention span, so I can spend an hour or two on a certain project or something, but then I need to move on and do something else. Camping doesn't allow for a great variety of the mind. You're surrounded by the same people the entire time, with the same activities available the entire time. As a child, you could come up with games and things, but at my age, there is only so much you can do.
I could probably handle camping, if it only lasted half-a-day or so, because of anything after that, I start to lose it. At night is when the bugs come out, mainly the mosquitoes. These bugs I am certain come straight from the devil because from one night of camping, I received seven different bites all over my body. I also absolutely hate, with all of my heart, sleeping inside of a tent. These tents become full of bugs as well, and there is nothing nice about sleeping on the hard uncomfortable forest ground. It's also extremely nerve-wracking when you hear an animal of some kind walk past your tent, knowing all that stands between you, and whatever is outside, is an extremely thin piece of fabric.
Camping is one of the most stressful things for me, and anytime someone tells me they are going camping, a little piece of me dies inside. While I respect how some may find it peaceful, all I can see is the boredom and the uncomfortableness that comes with spending the night outdoors. I get uneasy just thinking about camping, or hearing about going camping, so please. If you are wasting your vacation time to go camping, it's better off to not tell me.
