#19 / freshman year
The Summer Camp Project founder sharing a personal story about high school memories and the importance of summer camp.
Part of an ongoing series on the "why" behind The Summer Camp Project. Full story here → Our Story
August 2001
I was deeply grateful that Brian and Tammy let me attend my freshman year at Sam Houston High School. It meant I could stay with my junior high classmates until the new high school closer to home opened the following year. It also meant Brian and Tammy had to drive twice the distance every single day just to get me there.
That extra distance gave me an adjustment cushion—a chance to continue learning alongside classmates I’d known since sixth grade. Back then, I was fiercely competitive all across the board: academic, arts, athletics. I loved pushing the absolute limits of my capabilities. I wanted to be the best at everything, and I wanted to do it all.
I ran cross-country, which I loved for its individualistic focus. It developed a deep kinesthetic ownership of my body and performance. I often dealt with tendonitis, settling into a routine of warming my knees in the training room alongside the football players before practice and icing them down after. That season, I earned the top spot with the fastest time for both girls and boys at the district meet. I can still vividly picture our team motto—“too cold to hold, too hot to handle”—airbrushed across our t-shirts.
Then September 2001 arrived. I remember studying in the locker room when 9/11 happened, the world shifting while we tried to make sense of it inside school walls.
I joined the dance and drill team, blending precision with artistry. Reading and studying became my favorite after-school hobbies—so much so that my dad, Brian, had to sit me down for a gentle “talking to” about spending more time with the family. My routine was relentless: collecting insects for a biology project, writing essays on entropy, gorging on Edgar Allan Poe, grinding out push-ups and sit-ups before bed, and staying active in my church youth group.
My life was full and busy. I had plenty of classmates, but no real, close friends. In those days, the ecosystems I built were where I found belonging—not in the individual connections within them.
Hue’s Field Notes:
The Pivot: Systemic Belonging vs. Relational Connection
When young people channel their energy into high achievement, busyness, and structured environments, it’s often a way to construct safety and belonging on their own terms. But finding security in an ecosystem isn't the same as being deeply known. Moving from surviving in structure to thriving in community requires spaces where kids can drop their guard and step out from behind their accomplishments.
The Link: Translating Childhood Memories into Institutional Purpose
Camp creates an environment that balances structured achievement with unstructured relational depth. It gives high-aspiring youth a break from constant performance, shifting their focus from doing and proving to simply being. In camp spaces, kids learn that their value isn't tied to their fastest mile or highest grade, but to who they are when the timer stops.
The Call to Action
This is why The Summer Camp Project opens doors for young people to step beyond their day-to-day routines. We invest in camp experiences so youth don't just find programs to fill their calendars—they find authentic, lasting connections with peers who see them for who they are. Help us fund camp opportunities that turn busy schedules into life-changing places of true belonging.