Going away to college is not easy by any means but reflecting back on my first semester, I’ve realized that unlike my friends who have never been away from home before, many of my experiences mimicked those that I had at sleepaway camp.

The summer of 2018 will mark the fourth summer that I have not gone back to sleepaway camp but the impact it has had on my life will be everlasting.

As minute as this may seem, going to sleepaway camp shapes everything about you: from your hygiene practices (since it is the first time that no one is on top of you to brush your teeth or get in the shower) to how to live with other people.

Camp prepares you for making your own habits at school. You decide when to get ready for bed, what days you’re going to straighten your hair and when you want to shower. There is no one telling you when to do these things; while there were counselors at camp, they were never as on top of you as your own parents.

Camp also teaches you how to do your hair and makeup in short amounts of time… while I still take a long time at school getting ready, it helps you not care as much about what you like when you go out because you know you’re going to come home looking like a mess anyway.

Because of camp, I’ve learned how to share a space with other people. Keeping your part of the bunk or dorm clean is a crucial aspect of cohabiting a space.

Both school and camp have the ability to teach you that the people you live with become a second family. They’re the people that you do everything with all day long and then go back and live with them. While I wasn’t so great at sharing my clothes at camp, it showed me that at school, sharing clothes and food is the best way to grow closer to the people that you are living in close quarters with.

Camp also teaches you that an important part of living with other people is to remain honest; this is very important when living with a roommate at school because it helps resolve any issues instead of bubbling up resentment towards your roommate.

Finally, from camp, I’ve learned that it is okay to be homesick. It is natural to miss your home and parents. As a camper, I was extremely homesick and would cry a lot. I’ve grown up since then but camp taught me how to cope with missing home. When I was younger I would email my parents or write them a letter but now I can call them, keep myself busy with friends or even book a trip home.

Only people who have been to sleepaway camp can find ways to compare college and camp beyond the typical “second home/family” that may seem obvious to others. Gameday feels like color war, parents weekend feels like visiting day, dining hall food is compared to camp food and the last day of the semester feels like going home from camp.

Regardless of which camp you went to and how close you were to the other campers when you were younger, the bond between two people that went to camp together is instantly intensified when you go to school together.

I will forever be thankful for Camp Chipinaw. Thank you for making me who I am and for being a second home for me even though I haven’t been a camper since 2014. Thank you for teaching me lessons that no school or classroom could ever teach me. And thank you for preparing me for the biggest change in my life and easing every transition. I will be forever grateful for my time at camp.