Anthology of Campgrounds Part 2

There is a peril to having your iTunes on shuffle. Sometimes you'll accidentally come across songs that catapult you back in time with no mercy.

I was just doing what I normally do this morning when Vanessa Carlton's "Ordinary Day" suddenly came on, and all I could think about was King's Campground and summers from long ago. It's been almost 2 years since I've camped there. That means 6 years ago my family transferred over to this campground after Lake Manchaug become unsatisfactory, and 10 years ago when my family brought our camper trailer from New Hampshire all the way to Sutton, Massachusetts.

Usually my trips into nostalgia involving the summer only involve King's Campground and some random choice moments: looking up at the stars one cold summer night, sitting on one of the swings at the beach, or reading books in the hammock. But today, I encompassed everything, from my time in Sutton to as far back as my childhood in New Hampshire.

And it just hits me all at once. Was I ever really that young? Was I ever that shy 10 year old who spent her days swinging on the iron swing sets with an 8 year old as my companion? Was I really ever that silly little 15/16 year old who liked a boy too fast and too soon? Was I ever the loner 7 year old whose friends were her dogs and her brother because no other children her age camped there and was always ok with it? Once upon a time I would walk that short distance between my camper trailer and the beach, be it down the dirt roads at Shawtown, the paved roads at Lake Manchaug or gravel road at Kings, with bruised and scabbed knees, my bathing suit under my tank top and an intention to swim until my neck grew gills.

The class of 2012 has officially been accepted to Northeastern University through early action. And that's what drives the point truly home. It feels like just yesterday I was the stressed and scared little senior in high school waiting to find out if I had been accepted into the class of 2010: back when I didn't know if I should accept the fact that I'd be graduating in 2010 instead of 2009 like those who went to an average four year school.

And for once, the nostalgia isn't about how much I miss camping in our quaint little trailer with a campfire crackling with first flames outside and my friends waiting by the beach. It's about how much I've grown and how many years have truly past. And I can't help but laugh because, if I can feel this much nostalgia as a 20 year old, I can only imagine how I'd feel another 20 years down the line.