Experiencing Camp as a Camper

I can’t believe how different camp is today from when I went back in the 90’s. If I asked my 10-year-old niece if she knows what a Walkman is, she would just look at me funny and say, “What are you talking about Uncle Danny?”

Going to camp during the summer months in North Brunswick, NJ at Mill Road Day Camp was the most fun time I had. As I look back on my days as a camper, I realize I had so much fun making new friends and seeing old faces. I looked forward to it every day.

I had the chance to see my friends and participate in many fun activities, like rock-climbing, arts and crafts, and, of course, archery. Who can forget archery? And then there was Color War. One whole week of fun and games of Team Red versus Team White.

My sister and I always tried to be on separate teams since we were competitive. But I guess that comes along with sibling rivalry.

I think the one thing I was so nervous about was being diagnosed with epilepsy in February of 1996. How would I explain it to my camp friends when I saw them in the summer? Because I just saw them the previous summer, I was worried I was going to lose them as friends. What would they say if I told them I have epilepsy? How would they react if they saw me having a seizure at camp one day? So many questions and concerns were running through my head.

I became really shy and quiet because I didn’t want to speak about this to anyone – not to my friends at school or my friends at camp. If I had a camp like Camp Boggy Creek back when I was first diagnosed with epilepsy, I truly think it would have helped me open up to all my camp friends to express myself and educate them about epilepsy.

By Dan Rosenfeld