Friends of ASCCA: Lizzie’s First Summer

I remember the first time I went to ASCCA. It was about 5/6 years ago. I remember after I got dropped off, I was scared. It was my first time ever being away from my parents at a sleep away camp. I was scared and nervous because I didn’t know what I was going to expect. I was nervous at first but by mid-Monday or that mid-Tuesday all my nervousness just magically went away. The nervousness turned into joy and happiness. It didn’t take me long at all to realize that ASCCA could be a second home for me. I immediately started making these really amazing friendships with all these wonderful people and most of the people I met then I’m still friends with today.

I would love to speak specifically to the parents of first-timers for a second. I’m going to speak to the parents first. Parents, if you are worried about sending your kid off to ASCCA, don’t be! Your kid will get the care they need. There are always handy nurses around to give out medication and deal with all of the other health needs. The counselors are very reliable to deal with anything and everything else your kid may need. Besides that, everyone at camp will make sure your kid has a blast! I haven’t been to Camp and haven’t had a good time. I’ve always had a blast at Camp, so you don’t have to worry about your kid not having a good time because they will!

Now, I would love to tell you some tips and tricks, campers.

First, some tips/tricks about the cabins. You might want to bring an extra blanket or two because the cabins can sometimes get chilly for both the girls’ cabins and boys’ cabins. You also might want to bring your own pillow because why not? The pillows the camp has are fine, but some people may find it comfier to bring their own.

Also, during camp every single day there is such thing called as rest period/time. It’s held after lunchtime and it lasts for an hour at least. All campers are required to be in their bunks in their cabins. You don’t have to go to sleep and take a nap, but you have to be quiet during that time. Now, if you don’t nap or hardly nap like me, you might want to bring something to do.

For example, you might want to bring a coloring book to color in if you like to color, if you like to write you could bring a notebook to write in, or if you like to read you could bring a book to read during that time. The lights are all off during rest time, so you might want to pack one of those mini flashlights that you can clip on to a book or something because if you don’t you won’t be able to see your coloring book, reading book, or notebook. Don’t use a big regular flashlight because that will become a distraction and maybe even wake up some other campers who are trying to sleep.

Another thing you might need your book, notebook, or coloring book for is when you happen to get trapped in the cabin because of the bad weather. There might be times where it’ll storm at Camp. The times I’ve been at Camp and it has stormed, there were times where we all would be somewhere, and we would be directed to go to the cabins if it’s that bad or we would be told to stay where we are currently.

Anyways, you most likely will get held somewhere because of the weather and it’ll be good if you happen to have a book, your notebook, or your coloring book. You’ll have something to do other than talking with your counselors and friends. Not that that’s boring just hanging with your counselor and your friends, that’s honestly the best, but if you’re a person that always has to be doing something make sure to have something to do handy in case the weather is bad.

You know how I mentioned about notebooks earlier? It might be good for you to bring one. Some counselors buy them just for their campers but let me just tell you not all counselors buy one. Just in case, pack some kind of notebook or at least pack a few pieces of paper in your bag/suitcase because, just trust me, you’ll want it. There’s a thing where at Camp campers write all kinds of notes to counselors or other campers and those notes get put in what’s called The Love Note box.

Everybody loves The Love Note box. It sometimes gets overflowed with notes. Most times, girls and guys will write notes to counselors asking them to the dance. Yes, there’s a dance that happens at the end of every week. Other times, they will write notes saying how much they admire their favorite boy or guy counselor. The other times it’ll just be a nice friendly note telling how much they appreciate their friend.

I think the most important trick to coming to camp for the first time besides being prepared when it comes to the stuff you bring, it’s also important to have a good attitude towards going to camp for the first time. Yes, trying something new can be a little frightening and nerve-racking, but give it a shot! You might end up having the best summer of your life doing all kinds of activities and making a ton of awesome new friends!