Summer is an exciting time for young middle schoolers because they get to take a break from all their school work. One thing that young middle schoolers do in the summer is go to camp. Camp is a great way to have some fun, relax, and take in some sun. One thing campers must do is wear sunscreen to avoid getting burned and ruining the whole camp experience.

It was the summer of my first middle school summer camp. I had been waiting all year for this moment because my friends told me how much fun it would be. They told me about the lake and how we would get to swim, kayak, and use the blob. The blob is a giant inflatable balloon type thing that sits on top of the water. One person would sit on one end and another would jump on the other end which sent you sky high only to fall in the water. I couldn't wait to see this camp in person.

Now it was the day before camp and time to pack. The anticipation was killing me. I packed everything I needed. My mom, like all moms would do, told me time and time again to pack my sunscreen, but I was more worried about the clothes that I packed so I could look fly for camp. I was packed and prepared to have the most fun I had ever had.

This was it! It was the day of camp, and I barely got any sleep because of the sheer excitement. I got my things, and my parents and I drove to where the busses were. My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest the whole car ride over, but we finally made it. There were three school busses and a giant crowd of people surrounding them. I quickly grabbed my bags and said goodbye to my parents.

“Don’t forget to wear your sunscreen,” my mom insisted.

I nodded my head, but I was more worried about finding my friends, Nate and Ronan. Nate had been my best buddy since the first grade. We were table partners in our first grade class and hung out every day. I met Ronan in the fourth grade, and he was a pretty cool guy. Eventually, I was able to find them in the sea of people around us. My friends and I hopped on the bus and began the long journey to camp. The bus was crazy, kids screaming in every direction. The leaders played foolish games with us on the way there, which was entertaining for us, but I'm sure they just did it to shut us up. 

After our lengthy bus ride, we finally made it to camp. We got out of the bus and saw the beautiful lake in the distance. As the sun shined on the lake, the water caught the light. From here, I could see all the thrilling activities the camp had to offer. We spotted the swimming area, the kayaks, the blob, the cafe, and everything else.
“This place is amazing!” I said to my pals.

“I know right. And the best part is we get to be here for a whole week,” Ronan replied.

My friends and I were able to get in the same cabin, so we took our bags up to it. From what I remember, the cabins were not the nicest. The cabin had a weird smell, there were spider webs everywhere, and the mattresses were disgusting. We weren't worried though because we weren't going to be doing much sleeping anyways.  We got to camp pretty late, so there wasn't any time to swim or do any of the things I had heard so much about, so we slept on it.

Now the adventure began. We got our swim shorts on and raced down to the lake. The word sunscreen was nowhere to be found in my young, middle school mind. We got to the docks and immediately jumped in. We did all the things that I heard about. We swam, went out on the kayaks, and did the blob. After we were done doing all water activities, we headed to the cafe to get the camp’s famous oreo milkshakes. This was basically our routine for the entire week.

It wasn't until about the third day in the water I noticed my skin was heating up. I still didn't think about the consequences not wearing sunscreen would bring. Foolishly, I thought I would get a nice tan. I carried on with my day, and it quickly turned to night. This is when the pain kicked in. I hoped and prayed it would get better by the next day, so I could enjoy the last day of camp.

It was the last day of camp before we had to leave the next day. The pain didn't get better, in fact, it got much worse, but I wasn't going to let it stop me. I put sunscreen on my already fried skin thinking that this might help in some way. We hurried down to the water, and that's when I discovered something. My skin was literally bubbling. I walked shamefully to the nurse to see if there was anything she could do. Fortunately, the nurse was a kind lady and was also our bus driver.

“Oh my god!” she exclaimed. “How did you get so much sun?”

“I don't know. I wore sunscreen.” I lied trying to hide how stupid I was. She put some aloe vera on my burned skin and sent me back to my cabin where I sat alone. This is the point where my buddies and my cabin leader walked in.

“Where did you go?” Ronan asked me.

“The nurse sent me back here.” I replied. I then showed them my burn, and they were horrified.

“Dude, that’s pretty bad,” Cramer, my easy-going cabin leader, said.

“Are you going to make it to the party for the last night?” Nate asked.

“No, I think I'll just chill here and sleep.” I tried to say in the coolest way possible.

“Okay, we're going to head out then,” Nate said.

I spent the last night sleeping through the agonizing pain.

I woke the next day, and my friends and I packed our things. I tried to avoid talking to anyone because I knew at some point someone might put their hand on my shoulder, which eventually happened. A leader came up behind me, and the first thing he did is put his hand on my shoulder.

“Hey Brandon, how was camp?” he asked.

I try to hold back a scream.

“Pretty good.” I said, as I exhaled deeply.

“What's wrong?” he asked.

“He got really sunburned,” Nate said. Carefully, I lifted up the sleeve of my shirt to show him my burn.

“Woah man, that’s crazy,” he said.

All of us got back on the bus, and I endured a long and painful ride home. As we pulled up to the pickup spot, I saw my parents. What are they going to think when they see me?  I said goodbye to my friends and walked over to my parents. The first thing I did was show them my nasty burns. I cautiously lifted my up my sleeve, and their jaws dropped.

“Didn’t we tell you to wear sunscreen?” my mom asked.

“I did! But I waited till the last day.” I told them.

“Well that wasn't very smart.” my dad said. So my parents drove me home, as I stared out the back window in pain wishing that I wore sunscreen.

All campers must make sure to listen to their parents and wear sunscreen. I was in pain for a week after camp, and it was very difficult to put a shirt on. Not only was I in pain for another week, I never got to know how that final party went. So campers, make sure you wear your sunscreen, and you won’t miss out on a great camping experience.