Do you remember school camp? Experts say parts of camp often form core memories because our brains remember emotional events that are different from the norm.
I guess it makes sense. I recoil at the memories from Year 8 camp at Caloundra. It was a recipe for disaster! Sixteen hormone-filled girls in one dorm and one (me) with a freshly broken leg. Yes, unco me slipped and broke my leg trying to climb up the wet steps of the old Buderim waterslide.
I had a group of teachers huddled around me as my leg lay at a strange angle. The ultimate cringe factor for a 13-year-old girl in her togs came when the hot PE teacher kept commenting how hairy my legs were.
I had never even thought of shaving them until that moment in time as I prayed for the Earth to swallow me up – spider legs and all.
Let me tell you, the Bic razor got a workout as soon as that cast came off!
So, last week my 14-year-old went to Canberra for school camp. The itinerary included the Australian War Memorial, an outing to Parliament House (Albo was there), capped off by a day trying to learn to ski at Thredbo. Wow! But the stories coming out of camp were actually what I loved most.
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Avalon, my girl, sent me a video showing eight teens in her room blow-drying their hair, chatting on the beds and bragging they even had a kettle for coffee. The two-minute video ended with how much she loves me and how excited they all were.
My friend Melisa showed me a text from her son at the same camp. It simply read, “The food is average. Jordan broke a window with his bum and now he has to pay for it. Bye.” Can we unpack this mysterious message, please?
How did Jordan break a window with his bum? Was there any bum damage?
It is my favourite text of 2025 and a masterclass in how males communicate compared to females.
Camp stories do grow into legend. The core memories aren’t of tributes to fallen soldiers or walking the halls of political power, just broken legs and bum-broken windows.
Oh, to be 14 again!
Sami Muirhead is a radio announcer, blogger and commentator. For more from Sami, tune into Mix FM.
