If you know me, you're probably sick of hearing about it.

Summer camps are always fun. I'm sure that other summer camps have their own good qualities and reasons to be attached, but I'm pretty sure Camp Piomingo is unique in many ways.

Recently, someone I've never met before added me as a friend on Facebook. We had a load of friends in common and she decided it would be a good idea to figure out who I was. Turns out she's been going to camp for ten years (compared to my four) and is pretty much famous among the counselors there. We talked for a good hour about experiences from camp and gossiped about the goings-on there.

The point I'm getting at here is that, even though we'd never met before, we were able to connect because of our shared experiences at camp. Whenever I see someone with a Piomingo shirt on or a black hairband around their neck (to indicate they passed the swimming test at camp) I can automatically connect to them. If I happen to be wearing a camp shirt and they notice we'll smile at each other with a knowing sort of look. Just because we go to the same camp, know the same people and have done similar things.

Camp has a ton of great things about it. Since it was founded in 1938, it's had a lot of time to develop rituals and programs. They have an American Indian theme that is able to teach campers the four values of the YMCA: Respect, Responsibility, Honesty and Caring. This sounds kind of boring, I know. But you really learn to get along with others, learn about team work and leadership.

You get to be outside. Camp has multiple programs, ranging from an equestrian program to a traditional program to a traveling program that goes to places like the Great Lakes to Kayak. We do cool activities like rock climbing, caving, hiking and swimming. In my favorite program, in which I participated for the first time this summer, we repelled an eighty-foot overhang cliff and spent a whole weekend backpacking around Otter Creek Park (where camp is located.)

These activities are fun, but they aren't the best aspect of camp at all. What I enjoy about camp the most is the companionship and comradarie you develop with your cabin-mates or program members. Especially in the older, smaller programs, you develop a great bond with the other campers. Personally, I think it takes about to weeks to "feel the love." You start bonding with your counselors and make friends for life. There is a group of about 7 kids that I met at camp that I think I could talk to about anything who would be willing to drop what they were doing to help me. We learned a lot about each other and also learned to respect them for who they were. At least I did.

I feel like I should mention my "posse" whom I attend camp with every year now. I've never been to camp without my buddy Matt. In recent years, a few other people have joined us and I've gotta say we're pretty tight-knit, even if a lot of us don't see each other much. Matt's father and mine went to high school together and now Matt and I go to school together. Matt is one of my best friends and a big part of the reason I go to camp. Well, actually, he introduced me to camp, but that's not what I meant.

Camp used to be about the activities and the ritual, but in the past few years it's become a lot more about going and being yourself. That's what camp is about. It's taught me that you can make friends for a week or two and then never have to see them again. It's taught me to be myself. It's taught me to value loyalty, respect and caring. Camp Piomingo has its share of ghost stories and rusty nails (probably more) just like any other camp, but no other camp has the same atmosphere as Piomingo. Nothing can compare.

camppiomingo.org