When I was growing up, I went to a camp in Riner - a.k.a. Middle of Nowhere, Virginia - every summer for about six years straight. It was an all-girls, overnight camp and I know what you're thinking: You've just started to picture a small, pre-trainwreck Lindsay Lohan getting into Disney-style shenanigans with her doubled self. Well you've got kind of the right idea, except you need to scratch the uniforms and think more rustic - a lot more rustic.
Camp Carysbrook is about 80 years old, has cabins that look it and exists in a world where only the dining hall and the main office are fancy enough to have indoor plumbing. But this primitive living style only adds to its appeal, and I never would have learned all the important life lessons I did there if it was one of those camps with air conditioning and regular hot water.
When I came to college I felt ready because camp had prepared me for all the usual culture shocks that come with leaving home: I was used to spending extended periods away from my family, and I knew how to live with people even when our personalities occasionally clashed. Things that scared a lot of new students didn't faze me. When you've spent the summer showering while simultaneously dodging daddy long legs, those giant communal bathrooms in Old Dorms don't look so bad.
But those are the kind of lessons you can learn at any sleepaway or outdoorsy camp. It wasn't the strong stomach I'd gotten during the summers or even my skill at washing my hair in the rain when the well water was too low for normal showering - yes, we really did that one year - that prepared me for college.
There are two lessons I learned, which I believe are unique to Carysbrook, lessons that really helped to launch me into the world and still shape many of the decisions I make today.
1. The "trickle-trickle, gush-gush" principle: This is something that campers learn when they tour the infirmary on their first day. It's pretty simple. If you cut yourself and the blood is leaking in a "trickle-trickle" fashion then you don't need to waste a band-aid or a trip to the infirmary. It will go away on its own. But if the blood is running "gush-gush," you'd better hightail it to the nurse and do something about it.
This is a pretty good rule for life as well. There is no point in worrying yourself to death about minor problems, or letting a few bumps and scratches stop you from having fun. It's the big issues that you need to be aware of. If the flood gates of consequences are running gush-gush then it's probably time to look for a fix.
2. Taking 20: This rule is slightly gross I admit, but it's crucial when you are camping or if your cabin is just too far away for a late night walk to the bathhouse. Basically, it is what it sounds like. Whenever you're at camp and too far away from the bathroom, make sure you take at least 20 steps away from wherever you are before going to the bathroom outside.
I think this is a pretty good rule just as it stands, but I have a more metaphoric point to go with it too, I promise.
Whenever you start to get anxious, as often happens when one has to use the restroom and there is not a suitable venue to do so, it's important to take a few steps away. Walk the source of your anxiety to a different place before you address it. Things can be easier to deal with when you try looking at them from a different angle, and there's no downside to looking for that different viewpoint. Whenever you take 20, there is always that chance that you'll get lucky and encounter a nearby outhouse. Even if you don't, at the very least you've found a secluded place away from the pressure of other eyes to deal with a full bladder of issues.
Maybe the world would be a better place if more people knew about these rules; I don't know. I think they are always useful. So here's hoping that as final exams creep up on us, nothing in your life is running gush-gush. But if life does burst through the floodgates, take 20 steps away and you might find some relief.
Katie's column runs weekly Tuesdays. She can be reached at k.mcnally.com.
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