Summer Camp - Before We Go
| Category: | Summer Camp |
|---|---|
| Notes: | For the last troop meeting before summer camp, or the morning the troop leaves. Speaks to first-year campers and returning Scouts alike. Part of a series - see also summer-camp-the-last-campfire, summer-camp-what-we-carry-home, and summer-camp-the-drive-back. |
One more week. Some of you have been counting down since the day camp ended last year. Some of you are going for the first time and aren't sure what to think. Both are exactly right.
To the first-year campers: it's normal to be a little nervous. You're going to sleep in a tent for a week, eat in a dining hall with a few hundred other Scouts, and spend your days learning things you've never tried. There will probably be a night when you miss home. That's okay. Every Scout in this room who has been to camp has had that night, and every one of them would tell you the same thing: it passes, and by Friday you won't want to leave.
Pick one thing you want to do this week that scares you a little. Maybe it's the swim test, or the climbing wall, or a merit badge that sounds hard. Write it down. When we get back, I'm going to ask you about it.
To the returning Scouts: you remember your first year. Somebody showed you where the dining hall was, made sure you weren't sitting alone, and noticed when you went quiet that first night. This year, that's you. Find a first-year camper and look out for them.
And to everybody: check the gear list twice. Rain gear isn't optional. Neither are extra socks.
See you at departure. This is going to be a good week.