We all know that California summer camps are a great place to learn how to make friendship bracelets, but camp can also teach you a thing or two about making the friendships themselves. Kids Camp Los Angeles provides campers and counselors with endless opportunities to grow and learn, and one of the most important opportunities that camp provides you with is the ability to meet countless new friends. And while making friends at camp might seem a bit nerve wracking, the friendships that grow from camp are well worth the effort and experience. Of all the important things you can gain from a summer at camp, friendship tops the list. Here are a few of the many lessons to be learned about friendship from your time at camp.
Everyone is in the same boat
Regardless of whether you are heading to camp with a bus full of friends or you are making a solo journey to camp, everyone departs on their camp experience with a similar goal in mind – to make new friends. Everyone also feels a little nervous about venturing out to meet new people. Even counselors come to camp each year with butterflies in their stomachs in anxious anticipation of the friends they will make. Once you realize that everyone at camp- both campers and counselors alike- is just as nervous and excited to meet people as you are, you might just realize that you are surrounded by future friends who are ready to get to know you.
It’s easier than it sounds
The idea of making friends can seem like a daunting task but once you get down to it, making friends at camp is easier and far less scary than it sounds. While at camp, you are constantly surrounded by potential friends at activities, evening programs, meals, and during bunk time. Each activity period or meal time presents itself as an opportunity to strike up a conversation or work cooperatively with other campers, which are great first steps towards building a friendship. Since camp is a place without the constant interruption of cell phones or computers, there is more time and less distraction to forge genuine bonds with those who surround you. With all of this time dedicated to genuine interaction, it is nearly impossible not to make a few great friends while enjoying your time at this Kids Camp Los Angeles. Making sure the camp is accredited is very important. Canyon Creek is proud to have become accredited by the American Camp Association in its very first year.
Every friendship is different at Kids Camp Los Angeles
The friendships you form at camp are as unique as the people you meet at camp. There are literally no two that are quite the same. Campers come from all different walks of life and with very different life experiences that shape their friendships with others. Some friends rely on constant communication and togetherness, whereas other friends find themselves content in giving each other independence and freedom. A friend you meet during your bus ride to Kids Camp Los Angeles will likely lead to a much different friendship than that with a friend you meet in your bunk and choose to spend every waking moment with. Regardless of how a friendship begins or how the relationship is structured, all friendships can bring a whole lot of fun, laughs, and memories. Having diverse friendships can be complex but the reward is immeasurable as each different friendship brings its own benefits and lessons. It does not matter if you are from California, Utah, New York or even from outside the Country, having diverse friendships can be complex but is so worth it as each different friendship brings its own benefits and lessons.
What you put in is what you’ll get out
Like all relationships, friendships take effort, but the time and energy you put into meeting new friends and maintaining friendships will benefit you long after your summer session ends. Being at Kids Camp Los Angeles might also put certain demands on your friendship- whether those demands are finding time to spend together, overcoming disagreements, or balancing several different friendships- that might take work to navigate but ultimately make your friendship grow. When camp ends, new challenges may arise as you are forced to leave many of your new friends who might live in different cities, states, or even countries. Distance might make maintaining friendships challenging, but putting energy into being a good friend, even from afar, often leads to relationships which are resilient and some of the best. Logging some hours on the phone or on Skype can lead to lifelong friends that you will be so glad you chose to commit to.
Kids Camp Los Angeles friends are unlike others you meet at school or on a sports team. With your camp friends, you have so many shared experiences that form an unbreakable bond. While you might feel nervous about making camp friends, rest assured that year after year, the friendships are what keep campers counting down the days until their return to camp, where they can pick right up where they left off with some of the best friends they could possibly ask for.
