Teva Tan Line

It’s crazy that something can have such a deep impact on your life, yet all you have to show for it is a tan line. 

For over a decade, through every stage of childhood and even a pandemic, I have come back to the same summer camp each and every year. My dad had told me stories about his childhood spent at this camp. He would ramble on about swimming in the lake, going on hikes and so much more. His stories painted camp to be this special place, which I later learned, it most definitely is. 

My mom wasn’t sold on the idea of me ever going. In her own childhood she had despised her parents for sending her to camps like the one I begged to attend. Knowing that I was a shy, quirky kid she just didn’t think I would love it. Against her better judgement she signed me up. 

She didn’t know it at the time but sending me to camp would shape me into the girl I am today. 

To my surprise it wasn’t the lake, the mud pit or the archery range that made me fall in love with camp. It was the people. Throughout my years there, the people made it worth coming back. They made me realize that I’m not shy, I just had never found a place where I was so comfortable being myself. 

I went to camp for the first time as a shy 8-year-old, one of the first things I noticed is the footwear of the older girls. Everyone seemed to have on Teva sandals. Naturally that made me want them, so I went home that day and begged my mom for a pair. She didn’t seem to understand why I wanted these odd hiking shoes that had Velcro, when I had a perfectly good pair of sneakers to wear. I told her if she went to camp, she would get it. I still stand by this to this day.

By middle school I had established a reputation, following in my father’s footsteps. I was known to be a pretty fierce competitor in leg wrestling. Now it’s a funny memory to look back on, because it’s such an odd thing to be good at, but at the time, it gave me confidence and made my time at camp just that more special. 

My last year as a camper landed right in middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. Unsure of what camp would look like or if we would even have camp at all, I still begged my parents to let me attend. Luckily, camp happened. It looked different, but the people didn’t change. This year was probably my favorite as a camper, everything in the world kind of sucked, but at the end of the summer I still had my Teva tan line and that’s what mattered most. 

Throughout my high school years, I was given the opportunity to work at camp. During this time, I made so many memories and arguably had even more fun than I did as a camper. I started to realize the impact camp had on me growing up. This made me want to make camp just as special for the kids now as it once was for me. 

The summer after my freshman year of college, I ended up going back to work at camp. This time with a new appreciation. During the school year, I got to know so many new people, often telling them fun facts and stories about my life back at home. Oddly enough my Teva tan was always a memory I came back too. Mainly because every time someone sees it, they ask “why in the world do you have a tan line like that?” This opens the door for me to tell them about camp. Throughout this summer I realized that I’m not sure who I would be today if I had not grown up at camp. 

Camp saw me as the quirky, shy 8-year-old, the middle schooler who beat every counselor in leg wrestling, the high schooler who wanted to help make camp the special place it is and the now nineteen-year-old who realizes camp made her who she is today.

At the end of the summer, the Teva tan line was always there. For most, it might seem weird or annoying to have it be so noticeable, but for me it reminds me of the summers I spent at camp. The laughter, the energy and each and every memory this wonderful place has given me. 

My Teva tan line is so much more than a tan line, it’s a symbol of the place that made me who I am today, and for that I am forever grateful. 

• camp
• friends
• sandals
• summer