#wow i just wrote a whole paragraph about birches. i’m really not surprised actually.

[scentedinksandwhackedseals]

i'm sorry that happened to you at your summer camp, that especially sucks that it was at a place you loved. camp is so special and it's awful that that counselor and your cabinmates had to mess that up for you.

the birches program is for teens who have almost aged out of camp but still want to be like normal campers. if you want a bit more responsibility, there's also the CIT (counselor in training) and LIT (leader in training) programs. i was a CIT last year and that was also great, if a bit more stressful. but at birches, you live in platform tents—with three people to a tent at most—at a campsite a little ways away from main camp. (there’s a lot of birch trees by the dock so that why it’s called birches.) you do activities both at the campsite and at main camp (there's a lot of walking back at forth). you also have a super lax schedule so you get to sleep in and have a lot more say in what activities you do. it's also nice because you get to live with a smaller group of people, separate from main camp, so you're kind of like a family. i got closer to the people at birches than i had been with any of my cabins when i was at main camp. also, sharing a sleeping space with fewer people helped me with connection too. the first time i did it, i was in a tent with two fellow introverts, so it was a little awkward but still nice. but the second time, i was with two extroverts, one of whom i had already been in a cabin with. so that was a lot more fun and i got closer with them. but both times i felt like i was really part of the group. we had our own inside jokes and everything. and the whole thing was so fun and i miss it.

20. What/who do you miss? 

i really miss getting new content from the boys every day. and i miss my old friends from middle school. i also miss being able to easily get good grades, like i did when i was younger and also first semester sophomore year. and i miss my grandma's house. she moved and i never got to say goodbye to the house. and i miss summer camp but i'm gonna be there soon enough. just not as a camper so i'll miss that. specifically being in the birches program. that was one of the best times of my life. so i miss a lot of things. i can think of even more but i'll stop here.