Hi, and thanks for reading my blog! Even though I’m away at sleepaway camp right now, I mailed this month’s installment to my mom, and she’s helping me with the posting. (Thanks, Mom!) Camp has been incredibly fun this summer. Sure, there’s been some drama, but that goes with the territory if you’ve ever read Hurricamp! or Miscommunicamp!—both amazing books, by the way. You should check them out if you haven’t yet.
Today’s blog is about something that happened to my older sister, Jill, at Camp Hillside. That’s the camp I’ve gone to ever since I was ten and three-quarters years old; my sister has gone for even longer. This year, Jill is a Counselor-in-Training (aka “CIT”). As a CIT, Jill has some camp responsibilities, but there’s also plenty of free time. And that downtime was when this incident occurred. Also, just so you know, Jill immediately had to call my parents and tell them what happened. So, there won’t be any surprises in the Newman household from this post.
Anyway, the short version of the story is that Jill and several other CITs snuck out and left the camp premises late at night. On their way back to camp, they got caught. Because of Jill’s experience, I’ve learned a good life lesson: it’s important to become more independent and do things on your own as you get older; but it’s just as important to be smart and safe about how you exercise your independence. There’s a reason for the saying, “better safe than sorry.” Jill and her CIT friends, I’m sure, would agree with that.
Here’s the story…
Young at heart
For those of you who have been following me for a while, you’d know that after a slightly rocky start, I’ve grown to love sleepaway camp. Sure, camp is loud, there’s no privacy, and the food is so-so, but there are also a ton of benefits. Bedtimes are approximate (which I guess is why we’re always tired), and the counselors are way more flexible than my parents. Perhaps best of all, camp is all about friendships—people who see you at your best and worst and still want to hang out with you. Which we get to do twenty-four seven.
Sadly, at some point, you age out of being a camper. Once you get too old to be a regular camper, the next best option is to become a CIT. (Jill pronounces CIT as “sit” instead of saying the letters). Being a CIT sounds like a ton of fun. Jill says she helps out with the little kids’ bunks in the morning and pitches in for lunch service. Other times, she comes up with fun games and activities, works on different camp projects, or just does fun stuff with her friends. Jill told me there’s a lot more freedom than when she was a camper. So basically, CITs have the best of all worlds.
I know this blog isn’t supposed to be an advertisement for sleepaway camp—though I wish I were at least getting a free sweatshirt! I also know that sleepaway camp isn’t for everyone, which I totally respect.
However, learning who you are, how to handle challenges, and understanding what’s important to you are all good things to figure out sooner rather than later. And sleepaway camp is a great place to do it. Though I’m pretty sure that building those skills didn’t fit the bill with Jill and her friend’s recent “CIT breakout.”
No good deed goes unpunished
Jill gave me the full rundown of what happened during the CIT breakout. It started with good intentions. One of Jill’s friends-who’s a boy (not her boyfriend, she insists!) named Theo was leaving at the end of the first session for a special summer program. Since it was getting close to the end of the first session, Jill and her friends wanted to do something memorable. Another CIT friend came up with the idea to sneak out of camp. Camp Hillside is kind of in the middle of nowhere, and there isn’t much traffic on the road. Especially after dark. It’s kind of safe, yet also kind of not if you ask the camp directors, Bob and Dotty.
In any event, Jill told me the plan for the CIT breakout was that they’d touch the sign at the entrance of another camp down the road. Then, they’d come right back to Camp Hillside. I guess it was all just to say they snuck out of camp. Though I’m pretty sure nobody was asking.
“Almost all of the CITs were in on the plan,” Jill said. “Except for one boy who they couldn’t wake up when it was time to go. He sure was a heavy sleeper.”
Jill told me that they brought flashlights and stuck together. They even had the good sense to put on bug spray. Hiking through the woods, the sneaky CITs eventually made it to their destination—which was just about a mile down the road. After that, they headed back to camp along the side of the road. Except that, apparently, Jill and her friends were too noisy as they got closer to Camp Hillside. Theo’s loud laugh gave them away to the guard on duty.
After being discovered, the CITs were sent to Bob and Dotty straightaway. As you can imagine, they weren’t happy about being woken up because of a CIT breakout.
A fool’s errand
Like any good journalist, or journalist-in-training, in my case, I immediately wrote down what Jill said about their meeting with Bob and Dotty. This exchange should be pretty close to what Jill told me:
“Sneaking off the camp premises is dangerous, not just for your own safety, but for the camp, too,” Bob explained. “Our job is to account for your whereabouts at all times.” I imagined Bob would be smoothing his beard. He does that whenever he is upset.
“What if, G-d forbid, something happened to one of you?” Dotty said. “We wouldn’t know where to find you. You all were very lucky to be caught by the guard. Imagine if someone twisted an ankle, or, worse, if a car had been driving dangerously?” Jill hadn’t been scared at the time of the CIT breakout. But when she thought more about what could’ve gone wrong, she understood immediately that perhaps sneaking off the camp premises hadn’t been such a great choice.
“We understand that young people sometimes like to push boundaries, but we cannot tolerate this type of behavior,” Bob said. “And there will be consequences.”
Jill told me the CIT breakout group braced themselves for the worst.
Get your just desserts
In addition to each CIT calling their parents, the group also missed out on the annual trip to the water park (a favorite), and they also got a late-night movie privilege taken away. Jill said after those punishments, she knew their CIT breakout days were over.
Because Bob and Dotty have been camp directors for a very long time, they suggested some other “rule bending” (not breaking) activities that could happen on the campgrounds, not off.
“Although we’re not telling you to do this, you would not get in trouble for, say, doing twenty laps in the pool after midnight. Though you must make arrangements with one of the lifeguards. I happen to know a few who are night owls.” That was Dotty’s suggestion. “Or perhaps have a moonlight picnic. If you tip off the chef’s, you might get some extra chocolate chip cookies—they might still be warm if you ask nicely.”
Bob added, “Once upon a time, the CITs had a late-night frisbee tournament on the Quad. If you all brought your flashlights and kept the noise down, Dotty and I might be busy on the other side of camp that night.”
Jill and her friends all agreed that although it stunk for them, Bob and Dotty’s consequences were fair. They even admitted that the ideas for safe rule-bending were pretty good…though maybe not frisbees on the Quad since the CITs that brought frisbees had already lost them.
Until next time, be your best you.
Do you have any stories about learning an important lesson from an experience? Please share them with me in the comments section!
