QUICK BACKSTORY: At the end of Summer 2015, I was preparing to uproot my life of youthful innocence & bliss to make the great leap into the scary and dark abyss that is known as "college". The time came for me to say a teary goodbye to a boyfriend, a family, and (most importantly) a cat. I was adamantly opposed to the idea of college and very stubbornly packed up my comfy, cozy childhood bedroom into lil crappy cardboard boxes. And thus, in the final days of my pre-college freedom, I found myself on a Megabus headed down i35-South for what I only knew to be this strange three-day camp in the middle of nowhere Texas that my father had signed me up for.
INSERT Camp Texas: Camp Texas, as it turned out, was waayyyyyy more than a strange three-day camp in the middle of nowhere Texas. It turned out to be a little slice of weird-heaven-on-Earth. Crazy dancing, late night Werewolves, and the encouragement of quirky games at dinner... I fell in love. I knew that I had to find a way to join in on this weirdness.
[caption id="attachment_1644" align="alignnone" width="239"]
yüng Lex, kickin’ butt and taking names as a wee baby camper.[/caption]
FAST FORWARD to now: After three full years of experiencing Camp Texas, first as a doe-eyed camper and then as an insane and obnoxious counselor, there are a lot of amazing moments and fond memories that I have the privilege of looking back on! The following illustrations highlight just a handful of my most favorite and iconic Camp Texas Traditions; but there are many, manyyyy more that I'll forever hold near and dear to my crazy camp-loving heart. 💛
An ode to Camp Texas:
Oh, Camp Texas, how strange are thee
Your counselors, your traditions.... yo they downright freaky
But hey it's cool, it's totally rad,
Cuz you've given me some of the coolest friends, which makes me glad
You'd steal my voice and leave me with no sleep
You'd also bless me with sweet mems I'd forever keep.
Those late night moments filled with love and laughs
Were some of the best college moments I've ever had
When I first came to Austin, there was lots that I feared
But when I met you, Camp Texas, all those worries disappeared !!!!!!!!
So thanks CT -- for being so heckin' weird ❤️
IN CONCLUSION: Camp is cool, camp is fun!!! I am the luckiest of ducks to have been able to be a part of such a rad group of crazy, goofy, smart, and talented human beans.
College is scary when you're first gettin' started, but with an amazing support system and family that something like Camp Texas provides, walking onto campus for the first time doesn't feel so daunting (and that's a pretty #dope feeling!!!).
Shoutout to all the CT counselors -- past, current, and future -- for putting your time, effort, and passion into an organization with such a stellar mission. Shoutout to all the CT campers for being some of the *coolest* people I've ever met. And shoutout to all the particularly amazing, wonderful, glorious, insert-every-positive-adjective-here people who have truly changed my life through Camp Texas. Y'all know who you are.
T H A N K Y O U.
Stay weird. 🤘