Rightfully so.
Pine Cove is a cult.
j/k.
but seriously.
(some ppl say we overuse commas, i overuse periods. and i like. it that way.)
It was the hardest thing I've ever done.
I quickly learned the chants and acceptable behavior. The lingo was different too. Letters like "F.O.B" had all new meaning and I could no longer say "okay" without a cheer following. Oh summer camp, this was it. I was sleeping on a top bunk which gave me the odd urge to carve "teysha wuz here" and draw an arrow to where I had my head at night. There were kids everywhere. Some were funny, some were short, most were annoying. They had names like "Bailey" and "Lane." I guess parents are getting trendy. I even met a boy named "Sky." I did so much jumping that I would bet money my calves doubled in size.
Hired as a photographer, I was taking pictures all day every day. That part wasn't hard. I got used to staying up till 2 a.m. editing and posting, and I really didn't mind the hours. The hard part was the social aspect. I'm used to struggling with things in the beginning. I'm never comfortable in a new environment right away. Sometimes it takes me a few days, sometimes a few minutes, but PC took me 6 weeks. Yep, never did I finally feel completely comfortable there. I don't know what it was... to this day I can't put my finger on it. I was comfortable in the media office almost right away, but being at my camp was always a bit awkward. Three weeks in I had this awesome total break down. Someone asked me how my day was and once I tried speaking it all just gushed from there. Tears. Advice. Lesson learned. Smile. Moved on.
It got a little better after that.
But I still don't know what God taught me.
All I knew by the end of it was that I had to go back next year. I never expected that. Never. But I pre-signed and everything. In fact, the last week I think I almost loved the place. Almost... (that could have been my dual-discovery of the wide-angle lens and game room distorting my view)
I'm not done with pine cove. I've set it on pause. Next summer I'll get it right. I want to.
here's a few of my favorite pictures!
