Mail time at summer camp is a meaningful time for campers and counselors alike. The experience of receiving a postcard or letter from home hearkens back to a time before iPhones, iPads, and the Internet. This is camping, after all!

What’s more, it teaches us that all good things come eventually, and those who are patient and thoughtful get the greatest gift of all: mementos of love from friend and family.

Digital detox doesn’t mean total disconnect 

Going from SnapChat to “SnailMail” can be a challenging transition for some campers, but it’s a transition that offers huge rewards: and not because there’s anything “wrong” with texting your friends. It’s just that once you’ve experienced the joy of paper mail, it makes you appreciate the convenience of digital mail all the more.

Spending time away from digital connections doesn’t mean you have to disconnect entirely. It just means you have a little more “me” time during the day to spend making new friends, exploring new activities, and generally enjoying your down time from the stresses of school.

Communication is a gift  

As a culture, we often forget that communication is a gift. We look forward to receiving things from one another — it reminds us that we care, and gives us a chance to show what we love about each other. That’s why our counselors always carve out time in camper’s schedules for them to write letters home to family and friends.

Even if you just fill it with scribbled drawings or send cards that say “hi!” and nothing else, trust us — you’ll be thrilled to have letters when they come, and you’ll be even more thrilled to have them when you’re back at school.

Something to remember us by 

Life moves fast, and the brief few weeks spent at summer camp each year will blow by quicker than you can imagine. Photos, postcards, and letters will one day be all you have to remember these golden days spent with your best friends in the world.

Camp changes us into leaders and adventurers, but at the end of the day there’s something else that makes camp important: the fact that it’s just plain fun. So, treasure those letters from home. Be sure to drop a card in the mail to let the folks back home know you’re thinking of them.

One day, when camp is a distant memory, those mementos of your summer will mean the world to you.