If you were to ask me how I feel about my teenage years, I would not be sure how to answer that question. Just before grade 6 my family moved a mile down the road from our standard subdivision home in a cozy suburban neighborhood to a beautiful and unique house on a two lane road in a more secluded area. It was certainly an upgrade in terms of real estate value but quality of life suffered a bit.
Because of the strange school district boundaries in my hometown, I found myself spending the rest of my school days in a completely different community - one that my family never interacted with prior to the move and only on rare occasion afterward. They had no reason to, they were only a mile further away from the people that mattered than they were before and we were still in the same town. Too bad childhood relationships are a bit more fragile than adult relationships.
What's more? My old community was very welcoming and inclusive - if you lived in the neighborhood, you were part of the community. The new community I went to school in had families that had been there since the 1600s and the families had grown very close to one another generation after generation. Sure there were some "newer" families there too, like the ones who had "only" been around since the 1700s or 1800s. It was an inbreeders paradise! Basically I was surrounded by economically well-to-do suburban rednecks.
This new community never felt like home. I felt like an outsider looking in. I was a spectator rather than a participant. I felt like I was missing out on what was supposed to be the best years of my life. Instead, this time period became just an inconvenient stopover between elementary school and university. Given that these were my formative years, this was pretty damaging. So am I bitter about my teenage years? That's hard to say...
Also during my teenage years was the bulk of my summer camp career. People from camp came from all over the world, although most were from New England, New York, and New Jersey. We were all in the same situation - people converging upon one place and meeting the others there. Although there were many people we would see again and again, there were always new faces entering the fold. As a result, it was rare for someone to be a fish out of the water. We were accepted for who we were at that very moment rather than judged for what we did or did not do years ago. It was easy to wipe the slate clean. I had many fond memories from my summer camp years. Even the things about it that seemed like mundane drudgery at the time have since become memorable. Although it was not my home by any stretch of the imagination, it felt like home to me.
But when the teenage years ended, so did summer camp. Unlike the undergraduate years at university, it is impossible to relive the summer camp experience once summer camp is over for good. Reliving the undergraduate years is as easy as hanging out at a bar with old friends. In contrast, going to a summer camp reunion is a chance to see the camp in action but only as a spectator rather than a participant. In other words, you're not really reliving it. Would I live those years again if given the chance? Absolutely! So am I nostalgic about my teenage years? That's hard to say...
Luke 4: 24-30
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