I am a pretty busy person: I work, go to school, I'm part of a sorority and still find time to be with my family and friends. Let’s just say I am extremely sleep deprived. Point being, even in the middle of my work, there is one place that I miss dearly. I miss camp so very much. If you’ve never been to camp, it's so hard to explain it. I'll be honest, looking from the outside camp doesn't seem more than a cause for headaches, but it’s those dull pains that make for an amazing summer.

Ever since I was 9-years-old, I’ve gone to Camp Vacamas. It's a sleep-away camp in West Milford, New Jersey and the place that I grew up at. I started off as a young camper in Lower Juniors and I moved my way up the age ranges. In 2014, I became an L.I.T and was on my way to becoming a Junior Counselor. Finally in 2015, I became part of the staff and continued to be the following summer in 2016. I owe so much of my current life to Camp Vacamas, as some of my best friends are from there.

It just imprints things you’ll never forget. Sometimes I’ll be sitting in class and just start singing a "repeat after me" song to myself. I even catch myself saying them out loud to people before I remember that they have no idea what the heck I’m talking about. It's similar to knowing not to eat the eggs from the dining hall, which I tried once when I was young and will regret it for the rest of my life. I miss swimming in the lake every day and the hot weather.

One of my favorite parts about camp is that we get paid to have fun. It is by no means easy. It's one of the hardest things to do and you learn a lot about yourself while doing it. You learn the true meaning of sleep deprivation and you also know how to scream songs off the top of your lungs even though you can't even speak. You learn how to properly deal with uncomfortable situations. Campers don’t always behave the best or treat each other so well. Most importantly though, you learn to have fun, be yourself and not be ashamed.

You run around with underwear on your head but it’s normal because it’s wacky tacky breakfast and you can’t let your kids down. Camp is a beautiful place where you get to know yourself and other people in short periods of time. Camp is where you make memories that will last forever. The people, the songs, the memories and the children. All summer, when you want to rip your hair out, you just remind yourself that it’s for the kids. I encourage everyone to do this at least once in their lives.