OPEN THREAD: A-Camp Was So Amazing We Can Hardly Believe It Was Real

Everybody kept talking about this energy, this “good energy” that was in the air up there, and they were right about that. You arrived boundlessly and we celebrated ceaselessly. You were there to make friends, and I think we all did. You are a truly majestic assortment of human beings and it was a privilege to share a mountaintop with you.

The QTPOC Speakeasy, via instagram

Do you remember? Do you even know where to begin? Can you even state, definitively, which song is stuck in your head right now? Do you remember that first night at the fire circle when Julia Nunes and Jenny Owen Youngs did the most beautiful duet of “With A Little Help From My Friends” ever and the week was so young and so were you and all that energy was already wrapped up in stars?  Do you remember Jasika Nicole dancing like the personification of neon in Club Wolf and how you probably realized way before that moment that she was an actual perfect human? Remember when Kristin Russo and Dannielle Owens-Reid choreographed an enormous and epic lip sync performance in which every one of you outdid your own self? Did you know that banter about where a certain person prefers to eat dinner is actually the funniest thing ever when it’s being discussed by Britttani Nichols and Lauren Morelli? Remember Deanne Smith reminding you that it was 2 PM on a Thursday and you were watching queer cheerleaders, chair dancers and Beyonce groovers perform like old pros, and that this was your life? (Are you remembering to say FUCK IT? Are ya?) Can we take a minute for the A-Camp dance team, the A-Camp Family Band, Elicia Sanchez‘s childhood, Mal Blum‘s gold glittered vest, Djuan Trent‘s selfie stick and tightrope, Kimber Hall‘s group text, and all of Brittani’s monsters? Remember that song you wrote with Jenny and Mal? No seriously, that song was so good, I hope you remember that song, I hope you’re still singing it on the airplane.

Dannielle and Kristin on a mountain, via instagram

You turned up and turned out. You arm-wrestled, witch-crafted, finger-knitted, quilted, made magic, kinker-toyed, fixed bikes, wrote , and sang along to Selena. You talked about being queer adults, size destigmatizers, mixed-race, good allies, feminist beer-drinkers, community caretakers and anal sex enthusiasts. You played basketball and trivia and drank three-ingredient gin cocktails. Most importantly, above all: YOU HAD A TIME.

Senior Editors Hike

I left the mountain today slack-jawed, hungry, sunburnt, exhausted, eager to catch up on the website — and so happy, too. So happy! I had the time of my life with you humans, and seeing you have the time of your life with each other made love tumble out of my heart like a rockslide.

Okay, your turn: what was your favorite part of camp? What do you already miss? (Besides the GOURMET DINING, obviously.)