LIFE

Returning to camp is always the high point of the summer, not because you’re excited to raid the arts and crafts center again or play ultimate frisbee, but because you’ve been counting down the days until you can reunite with all your friends. Anyone who's been knows that camp friends are the best, and even though you don’t see them for the majority of the year, your bond is unshakeable. Here are seven reasons we love our bunkmates.

1. They accept (and love) you for who you are.
Living with someone can be hard. Living with 13 other girls in a hot, sweaty cabin? That’s nearly impossible, so the fact that your camp friends can still love you after one summer is true dedication. They’ve seen you crying, without makeup, peeing, flirting, laughing and yelling, and they're okay with it. Anyone who can stand your snoring is worth keeping around!

2. You can be whoever you want to be.
If you’re still known around school as the girl who peed her pants in second grade, that doesn’t matter. At camp you have the freedom to break free from your title as a bookworm or a jock and just be who you are. Without any expectations for how you should act, it’s a lot easier to feel comfortable in your own skin around your camp friends.

3. You're face to face more.
Without your phone or computer to keep you occupied, it’s all about human contact. It may sound silly, but turning your phone off for a couple of weeks will do wonders for your friendships.

4. You get to vent (and gossip) all day, every day.
Since none of your camp pals know any of your friends back home, you have the opportunity to dish out the dirt about your ex, your bestie or even your teachers and get an honest perspective from an outsider. If it’s the middle of winter and you need to rant about your ex bae’s new GF, you can always depend on all your camp friends to tell you what you want to hear.

5. There's plenty of inside jokes.
At camp, everything is just funnier. Spilling water on your shirt during dinner gets a chuckle. Getting dared to kiss your crush with your eyes open gets a roaring laughter. Tripping on a tree root in the middle of the night gets someone to pee their pants. You know every embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to each other, and you all have no shame in bringing up those moments in conversation until you are all in stitches.

6. They don’t waste time.
With your camp friends, not a minute is taken for granted. As soon as you get to camp you are doing everything together: eating, sleeping, gossiping, etc. It's easy to forget that you went most of the year without seeing each other!

7. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.
As soon as you say your teary goodbyes on the last day of camp, you are already counting down the days until the reunion on the car ride home. When that day comes, it’s full of hugs, laughing and making even more crazy memories.

What do you love about your camp friendships? Share in the comments below!

by Erin Farrugia | 7/30/2019