This year, I went to camp for four weeks. I had a blast. We played in the lake, played tennis, softball, Matball, MassSoccer, and all sorts of other things. I made many friends, enjoyed the Color Wars, and had a blast.

Going to camp for short or long periods of time is an amazing experience. You build up confidence just by going there. Even just visiting the camp is good, too. But staying at camp for four weeks taught me four things.

THING NUMBER ONE: Friends are like family. At camp, you live with the people in your bunk for your entire stay. You are like sisters by the end of camp. You love each other. Camp was your home for part of the summer. It'll be hard to leave your home and your sisters, won't it?

THING NUMBER TWO: Enjoy your stay. You might not like all of the activities, the food, and maybe some other girls, but if you mope around all the time, you will ruin not only your time, but everyone else's.

THING NUMBER THREE: Camp is not a popularity contest. At camp, you make friends. You don't go around bossing people around, being snotty, and bragging. Cliques aren't good at camp. If you're in one there, you will be broken off from the real world; you'll just be gliding along with your clique, not everyone else. Anyways, popularity is about being nice. If you have a loving heart, a caring mind, and tons of soothing thoughts, you'll make friends fast.

And finally, THING NUMBER FOUR: Be yourself. Pretending to be somebody else isn't going to get you anywhere.

Enjoy your time at camp. Make friends and spend lots of time with them. If you live in a different state than the camp is, as I live in Colorado and I went to a camp in Pennsylvania, swap addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers so you can talk. ENJOY CAMP!!!