What Getting Kicked Out of Camp Taught Me

Some of the most important life lessons come from camp.

When I was 10 years old, I got kicked out of camp.

I didn’t think much of it. I never even apologized for being, well, me.

At that time in my life that was me being unapologetically myself. But, I didn’t know that as a kid.

I had just been adopted 2 years prior from Russia. I’ve already spent nearly 9 out of the 10 years of my entire life living and sleeping with 50 kids. And my parents decided to stick me into a summer camp for the full 8 weeks.

I didn’t want to be at summer camp.

I wanted to be at home. With family. That’s what I missed the first 8 years of my life. So why did I need to spend 8 weeks each summer at camp?

The first year, I barely spoke English- so the camp dealt with me.

The second, I became a little bit more myself. The camp couldn’t handle my loud personality, so they called my dad one last time.

“She spat on a counselor!” they told him. Daddy J showed up later that day to pick my trunk and I up.

Too be honest, I drooled on a counselor. I didn’t even mean it. But when I apologized for it, it didn’t matter because, for the camp, it was the last straw.

I wasn’t a stupid kid, and fortunately for me, my dad wasn’t all that harsh with me about it. But he did explain the importance of why I was at camp.

He had to work and didn’t know what to do with me all summer and just wanted to provide a fun environment for me where I can try a lot of different activities and learn English.

So the next summer my parents sent me to a new camp. They even let me pick it.

They said I should try not to get kicked out of this one. I told them I’d try.

Luckily for them, I liked that camp a lot better. The people were nicer and less judgemental.

Lucky for me: I met the best people, including one of my best friends today.

So the moral of this story? When you don’t fit into someone’s bubble, don’t apologize for it and move on.

If someone doesn’t want you, that’s nothing to be upset about.

If you look at it positively, it’s actually a blessing.