Andy Barry had an interesting op-ed piece in last week’s Globe and Mail about how summer camp launched his career as a radio personality on CBC. It got me thinking about my own career trajectory.
Every July, for a little over a decade, I packed all my belongings into a green trunk and headed north to the wild’s of Algonquin. My father grew up in the park (literally, but that’s another story,) and felt it was important we learn the basics of wilderness survival, as well as an appreciation for nature.
I was never a popular kid at camp, but I did make friends – best friends. People I still speak with weekly, although we now live miles apart. I excelled at fire building, tree identification, first aid and other random activities most would deem useless in the “real world.” I spent long days in the bush, covered with bug bites, face black with soot. I learned to light a fire with only a log that had been soaked in a bucket of water for 24 hours, and a single match.
I think back to last summer, where I wandered alone down the coast of a deserted island in the Mingan Archipelago, torrential rains coming down, completely lost. While I waited for the coast guard to come and rescue me, and my body slipped further into clinical shock from the cold, I was aware at the back of my mind exactly what was happening, and what I needed to do to stop it. I knew I would be ok.
At 26, I’ve had a lot of careers. Treeplanter, Organic Farmer, Media Trainer and now Filmmaker. Oddly, in every case, my ability to brave the outdoors, diagnose clinical shock, and “survive” while lost have come in handy.
I guess what I mean to say is, sometimes it’s the silly passions, the odd behaviors that other people don’t quite understand, that shape who we become as adults. I need to relax and keep being silly.
