Final Thoughts
“It was an amazing experience. I was probably too shy and too scared, but I’ve rarely felt as at home as I did surrounded by 300 other queer women.”
“I was honestly worried at A-Camp was going to be only a giant sexboozepartydramafest. But it wasn’t. It was a life changing, educational, friendship starting, FEELINGS FESTIVAL (with lots of booze and sex and dancing). I never expected to feel so at home in a community of people. I pushed my boundaries further than I knew I could, I learned so many new things, and met incredible people from all over the country and world. To say A-Camp was a safe space is an understatement. I can’t wait for next summer.”
“The best part of A-Camp is the people: the community that exists among my cabin mates (new and old), the staff, all the campers, and the larger Autostraddle community. You can feel all of that the whole time you’re at camp, and it’s such an overwhelmingly positive feeling – welcoming, accepting, caring, conscientious.”
“Both camps that I’ve attended have changed my outlook on life and what I believe is possible in radical ways. I know I will continue to learn and grow an enormous amount, not to mention have my heart soothed in a way that’s impossible anywhere else.”
“Camp was probably like the best 5 days of my life?”
“I spent a lot of time alone… and nobody judged me or made me feel weird for spending so much time alone! It was the greatest.”
“Y’all are turning into some of my best friends. I wouldn’t miss it. I feel like A-Camp is home.”
“It seemed like almost everyone let their guards down and approached others genuinely and with so much kindness.”
“The staff was VERY cute — hello Ali, Cee, Dani and Marni!”
“My favorite part of A-Camp is the other campers. They are consistently the most awesome people I’ve ever met.”
“It was an amazing, life changing, totally affirming experience!”
“The best part of A-Camp was experiencing a community where the bar for “socially acceptable” was set very low.”
“Everybody assumed the best of everybody else right off the bat. That’s magic.”
“I loved making new friends, laughing and dancing all night, making crafts for the wedding, the A-Camp Family Band, and singing “Follow Your Arrow” in a group of 300 queers.”
“Being up Mt. Feelings takes a weight off my chest that threatens to crush me at times. A-Camp gives me a break from that. The community at camp and the friendships that I’ve developed are the support that makes me strong and brave and authentic in the real world.”
“My favorite part was stargazing at night with The Foxes.”
“Ugh. My cabinmates are amazing. I got so lucky with them. We all still talk every day.”
“It is consistently the best thing that ever happened to me every time I go.”
“I loved getting to meet people from all over that have continued to be my friends after camp, being in a queernormative space for such an extended period of time, and how everyone is really, really, ridiculously good-looking.”
“I’m an awkward person and even after three camps it’s still AWKWARD and UNCOMFORTABLE. This is definitely an “it’s not you, it’s me” situation. So I’ll probably be back to torture myself some more because A-Camp is a special place for all kinds of queers, even the hopelessly awkward ones.”
“I truly feel that Camp is where I can be myself and meet people who I have so much in common with. Some of my best friends have come out of attending. I think being in those kinds of safe, supportive queer settings is so important to my mental health. Plus meeting the amazing people that make Autostraddle exist is so phenomenal!”
“My favorite part was being completely immersed in the grandiosity of a mountaintop and the silence of wilderness.”
“The sense of community was so real. I loved the breadth of stuff from silly to serious.”
“It’s like a family reunion with nice haircuts.”
“I loved spending time with my cabinmates. The sessions and the staff reading were pretty great, too!”
“Camp was the first time I not only felt accepted but also loved just for being the weirdo I am. The staff are really the most amazing people I’ve ever met and my cabin is my new family. Everyone was beautiful and interesting and intelligent. The panels ranged from hilarious and educational to fucking intense and super helpful. I think I’m a better person from my experiences at camp.”
“I loved meeting new folks who I really related to, all of the amazing workshops, dancing forever and ever, leaving the mountain and feeling so much more empowered, confident, and fabulous!”
“All the people who I knew theoretically were really smart and funny and cool and whose writing I just want to immerse myself in always were there in real life being smart and funny and cool while I was also there!”
“I would rate myself as “very shy” but I was surprised I could just talk to someone while I was on the swings. Camp felt 110% safe. I was totally at home. I didn’t even give a shit about the way I looked or that I changed so many times on Sunday.”
“I love watching connections between people and how we come from different backgrounds but share so much. The people that come to A-Camp always seem to be amazing.”
“Its a safe space to be whoever I am without needing to be like every other queer to feel validated!”
“I liked being away from real life for a few days, canoeing, hiking, and being in California nature.”
“It was so nice to not even have to think about whether anyone could tell I was gay, or which pronouns I used to refer to exes. I finally got to talk about people I found attractive for the first time ever in a group setting without being the odd one out or lying!”
“Grace Ellis is always the best part of camp. Also, this one time, Hannah Hart rubbed gentle circles on my back, seemingly without realizing she was doing it? It was very soothing. Oh, and archery! I got to shoot a bow! And I only hit the ground once! KATNISS EVERDEEN EAT YOUR HEART OUT.”
“I have a massive crush on all of you!”
“I loved the people I met and the connections I made. My new steeze is to have a queer lady posse. That is something that has been severely lacking in my life.”
“The best part was making friends with writers and campers in a queer-friendly environment where being my weird self is exactly what people wanted of me.”
“I loved that this camp was longer. That was the best part. Just one more day of magic.”
A-Camp 6.0 will take place May 30th through June 4th at Alpine Meadows in Angelus Oaks, CA. Registration will open on January 27th, 2015.
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Ooohhhh my godddddd the quotes with the photobooth pictures
Are you guys trying to kill me or something?!?!
Also, the part with the Wal-Mart rings in Bren and Carrie’s ceremony is where I totally lost my shit too. WATERWORKS FOR DAYS
oh my god the photo booth photos i have waited all my life for these
I Think I’m gonna cry, that photobooth photo. I had a rough weekend, and this is totally what i needed right now. A-Camp really changed my life, I cant wait to be back on Mt Feelings!
I haven’t been to A-Camp before because of the Atlantic Ocean but I’ve been living vicariously through recamps since 2012. Pretty sure that’s gonna change this summer though!
You humans are perfect, and I love you all dearly.
Self-Defense 101 with Laura was so much fun, you guys…
I fell on my butt a lot
I made it all the way through the wedding rerecamp without choking up but then outsiders and THAT PHOTO THAT I TOOK which has also been the greatest desktop background for an entire year and WITH MY NAME ON IT I cant
It was awesome. The photo booth with quotes was perfect. My terrified and confused face was pretty accurate. Camp this year- Can. Not. Wait.
I think i went to self defense because it helped with my hangover? Yep. I spent probs a good hour or two or more lying on the picnic bench behind eagle staring at the sky. Every time I looked at the trees or ground, they swayed. Lol.
I loved the wedding. You guys…i havent experienced another moment than the wedding where I wanted my wife to be next to me to hold hands with.
You guys, we started crying then did the whole thing over only to cry again!! Lolz.
Aaaaand yelling FUCK YEAH!!!! on Mt Feelings.
You guys the only way to pre game for a wedding is Whiskey Tasting where I enjoyed th3 Brenne Whiskey. THANKS GUYS. And also learning about barrel proof whiskey that will always kick my butt. It smells your fear.
And tastes like fire!
Is there such a thing as too old for A Camp?
Nope.
I assure you on behalf of the oldsters’ cabin, there most certainly is not a thing as too old for A Camp!
Oldster cabin high five!
Also also also this was the first camp that I managed to wake up and go to every yoga session. Love Dani O’s class. The outdoors one was beautiful.
While I was reading the other recamps last week I was so sad knowing I won’t be able to go to A Camp 6.0. But the magic of camp still exists off the mountain! All these people who make camp feel so powerful and welcoming don’t stop existing when camp ends. So even though I will miss being there, A Camp is in my heart forever.
i feel like i need to mention again that carrie’s wedding bouquet was made out of tiny strips of paper from love notes that bren had given her over the years.
you just shut the fuck up right now with your adorable mouth.
I have never been to camp but I always enjoy reading these recamps anyway. A mountain full of queer folks is, like, the dream. I feel so isolated from other queer people in my day to day life so I reaaaaally hope I can go next year.
All these gorgeous humans…. I can’t – I need to get to Mt. Feelings so bad – being at uni sucks – exams are always at the same time as camp :(
Until I can get there (also known as the right side of the Atlantic) – I hope everyone has even half as much fun as it seems to be from the recamps – safe in the knowledge that queers everywhere are soooo jealous.
<3
Just
<3
oh jeez, that last time I shaved my head was the week before these photobooths were taken
I have no idea what I’m doing.
Please send help.
You are giving me boyband realness and love it!
the picture of me biting magda’s face is my favourite thing oh god
i can’t wait to get back to this mountain
need some crying shades over here.
<33333333
You guys are so cute.
“I have a massive crush on all of you!”
^^ very accurate
my bank account says no, but my heart says “you need this”, so i’ll see all your wonderful faces on the mountain!!
I cannot wait for the next one. I’m on a mission to get over my fear of dancing in public, and feeling awkward about being in photos. I danced to one Robyn song at the wedding reception, so I’m already on the road to recovery.
The photo booth love montage – I think my heart just exploded
So much cuteness! Watching the red carpet video was so fantastic. Everyone looked AMAZING. I was really impressed.
Is it weird that I’m tearing up looking at these when I didn’t even go
And also that I’m registering next week but I’m terrified I won’t make friends
/sob
/goesanywaybecausefuckfear
Not as weird as me spending a whole day refreshing the page waiting for the recamp to be uploaded when I didn’t even go! I mean, to my credit I am ill right now but it’s still kind of tragic.
Haha. Being afraid of not making friends is the last thing to be worried about, trust me. Especially if you take a shuttle from the airport. Jetlag plus camp excitement plus a terminal full of queers who love a majority of things you do on the internet?
Yeah, I think you’ll be just fine :)
I’m with you here. I’ve decided I’m going, and seeing everyone look so ridiculously happy is both affirmation for the positive experience A-Camp must be, but also terrifying to think, ” What if I don’t make any friends?! What if no one likes me?!”
I’m with you. We won’t make friends, if we don’t go!
That picture from the photo booth is awesome. The wedding was my favorite thing ever. Also I am going to be the officiant for my friends wedding this July and I’d love to see the resources Marni’s mother provided!
Yassssss!!! Can’t wait to get back to Mt Feelings! Who is that handsome boy with the Spike Lee shirt and the shades tho?! She is fine!!! ;) lmao