Camping

 

No cell service, no civilization, 50-pound pack and miles to walk. This is what my family does for fun. Thunderstorms, sweltering heat, and hordes of mosquitoes are just a few of the pleasantries I’ve experienced on these trips.

Camping has its highs and lows, and yeah, sometimes lying on a beach in Hawaii sounds comfier, but I love being out there. It’s a sanctuary from the distractions of everyday life for my family to spend time together. At home there’s always something more to do: clean your room, respond to emails, go to soccer practice, finish homework. These days, only once a week everyone in my family is around to sit at the dinner table together. Out in the wilderness all the responsibilities disappear and without phones, checking emails, texts, or social media is out of the question.

               As a kid I didn’t notice the freedom camping brings, mainly because I didn’t have to. I could get homework done in less than 30 minutes and then spent the rest of the afternoon building forts or playing board games with my siblings. No worrying about responsibilities. Camping was just another activity that we did together when we had a little extra time. Anytime we had some extra time on our hands we would pack up the car and head out to the woods to do some camping.

               When I went into third grade, we moved to North Carolina, and we took camping to the extreme. There was never a dull weekend. One week we would be in the Smoky Mountains pushing each other down mossy rocks into the water and grabbing onto each other’s ankles in a desperate attempt to keep from plunging into the freezing water. Then the next weekend we would be jumping waves, body surfing, and building sandcastles next to the water with giants moats to save them from crumbling from the incoming tide of the Atlantic Ocean.

               We moved back to Illinois after a year there, and going back this summer to visit was a reminder of what used to be, and I couldn’t help but long to be back. Go back to when I didn’t spend my weekends tucked away in my room writing essays or come back home to eat dinner by myself after a late-night soccer practice. I used to hang out with my family every weekend and now we’re lucky if everyone is free and at home on Saturday for family pizza movie night.

               While camping used to be a common occurrence, now it is limited to one week in summer vacation when everyone is home and doesn’t have summer camps. My love for camping hasn’t changed, but now there’s a bittersweetness to it. The family’s together, there’s no next thing you have to worry about, and there’s time to slow down. Yet, I know it won’t last. At the end of the trip, it’s back to real life going to work, busy schedules.

               If in the future I’m a nomad, live in Spain, or become a millionaire I just hope I’m still going out to sit by a campfire shared with other people. I love that my parents passed camping down to me and my siblings and I hope to share with others the same joys I’ve learned from camping. I’ve already attempted to get a few trips going with my friends and sisters, and although they never made it out of the planning stage, it’s a promising sign for the future.