High school was full of structure – bells ringing every 45 minutes, assignments with rubrics, and a whole lot of emphasis on grades and résumés. Camp was the opposite. It was chaotic, unscripted, and full of unexpected lessons that, in hindsight, prepared me for life in ways school never did.
- People See You Differently Without Labels
In high school, people tend to define you by your schedule or your extracurriculars. You’re known as the athlete, the overachiever, the quiet one. At camp, none of that mattered. I wasn’t expected to fit a mold. That change in environment let me figure out who I was without trying to meet other people’s expectations.
- Being Offline is a Game-Changer
At camp, my phone was off or completely out of sight most of the time. That meant no group chats, no endless scrolling, and no comparison traps. Instead, I had actual conversations, sat in silence, and got comfortable just being where I was. It made me realize how much noise I’d gotten used to – and how valuable it is to disconnect once in a while.
- Teamwork Looks Different Outside the Classroom
Group projects at school are usually about dividing work and getting it done. At camp, teamwork meant real-time problem-solving – building something together, helping someone through a tough day, or figuring out how to make the most of a rainy afternoon. There were no roles or titles – just a shared goal and a bunch of trial and error.
- Leadership Isn’t About Being in Charge
At camp, leadership showed up in small moments: helping a homesick camper, stepping up when things weren’t going smoothly, or just being someone others could count on. It wasn’t about being the loudest or most experienced. It was about showing up and doing what needed to be done.
- Confidence Comes from Doing, Not Just Achieving
In school, confidence is often tied to things like grades or acceptance letters. At camp, it came from doing things I didn’t think I could – leading a group, navigating a hike, solving problems on the fly. No one was handing out awards, but those experiences gave me a quiet kind of confidence that stuck with me.
- You Need Space to Just Have Fun
Between deadlines, exams, and college applications, high school doesn’t leave much room for just having fun. At camp, fun wasn’t a side activity – it was part of the culture. Playing games, making dumb jokes, getting messy – all of it reminded me that not everything has to be productive to matter.
- I Was More Ready for College Than I Realized
Camp gave me practice with a lot of the things college requires: living with strangers, being responsible for myself, dealing with uncertainty, and figuring stuff out as I went. It helped me build independence and resilience without me even realizing it. When college started, I didn’t feel completely lost – I’d already learned how to adjust to a new environment and take care of myself away from home.
Final Thoughts
Looking back, high school gave me the foundation – study habits, deadlines, structure – but camp gave me the tools to handle the unpredictable parts of life. It’s where I learned how to work with all kinds of people, step up when it mattered, and stay calm when things didn’t go as planned.
I didn’t come back from camp with a certificate or a grade, but I came back more capable, more self-aware, and more ready for what’s next. That kind of learning doesn’t show up on a transcript – but it shows up everywhere else.
About the contributors:
Izzy Josephs and Leila Saeed started working on this together during their Senior Options time with us last Spring and now they are reflecting back as they are freshmen together at the University of Michigan. Izzy is studying Sports Management and Leila is studying Psychology.