Picture a camp. What do you see? I see kids running around, meeting new friends while conquering high ropes. I see kids working on crafts. I hear cheesy songs being sung while around the campfire. I see endless memories being made as little 12-year-olds have their first kiss. This is what I used to imagine when someone said camp.
Now picture this: adults at a camp. An Epic Nerd Camp. I attended this very thing this summer. Epic Nerd Camp turned my vision of camp on its head, and in a good way. Instead of it being a bunch of kids running around doing crazy things, it was adults.
At this camp we got to act like kids again. We ran around and played the floor is lava. We roleplayed and got to be something we were not. We played board games and laughed so hard that we couldn’t catch our breath. It was like we were teleported back to a time where making friends was easy and the bills didn’t matter, all that mattered was fun.
I meet so many great people. I have pretty bad social anxiety, and at this camp, I didn’t feel it as much. Everyone around me was so nice and they were not judging me for who I am.
One thing about me is I am terrified of heights. Even with this fear, I did some high ropes and rock climbing while I was there. I had fun even though it was terrifying because people were cheering me on and making me feel safe. I had encouragement all around me which made it all the better.
I even got to roleplay with my amazing new friends. At camp, I got to pretend that I was a witch in Hogwarts practicing spells or a dragonborn barbarian that was ready to rage at any minute. It was so much fun because of the people that I roleplayed with that I got to bounce off of.
On top of that, I let my social media go for a whole entire four day period. I had no service and low-powered WiFi in the mountains, and that would usually bother me, but at camp, it didn’t matter as much. I had people around me that I could talk to, and it was a relief not hearing about politics or disastrous events for a while. I felt a weight come off my shoulders.
By the end of this camp, I felt like the people at that camp were family. I was so sad to go.
Overall, I recommend that everyone goes to an adult camp at some point. I had so much fun and met friends that I think I will have for years to come.
