#6 Experience the great outdoors in Michigan

I'm a camper. It's in my blood.

My Mom went to summer camp in Indiana every summer during her childhood, and it's how she grew up. I was destined to be a camp girl from birth, basically (she took me to a "camp fair" towards the end of elementary school to decide where I would be doing my growing). Thankfully I actually really enjoyed it.

There is simply no other experience that can compare to watching the sun set over a calm lake, or seeing the stars shine at their full potential, away from all the polluted suburban skies.

These are the sights I was lucky enough to behold every summer from the ages of ten to eighteen. At Camp Newaygo, I did all the cliche summer activities such as canoeing, kayaking, swimming, hiking, singing around a camp fire; basically anything Lindsey Lohan did in Parent Trap. But I also did so much more. I learned to fence and to windsurf, to sail and to groom a horse. I learned how to pitch a tent and build a fire, which later developed into a lesson on how to feed ten hungry young mouths as a counselor. I learned how to live in close quarters with others, and how to deal with being away from home for long periods of time. I learned how to be independent, and how to make friends with girls who came from completely different backgrounds. I learned who I was.

As it should now be evident, going to summer camp was one of the most valuable experiences of my life thus far. But now it's too late for college kids who haven't had this experience to be campers, so I suggest this: if you love working with kids and need a job, consider being a camp counselor. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made.

Already have a job? Simple. Go camping.

Now in reality, it really isn't that simple. You obviously need to plan it out and know what you're doing, but with the right equipment and a good location, you can have yourself a truly amazing time.

Another warning: camping isn't for everyone. I would challenge all college students to at least try it if they've never been, but it's true that some people will just end up being more miserable than happy if they spend a long period of time in such personal contact with nature. It's not for everyone.

But EVERYONE should at least spend some time exploring the beauty that is the Michigan wilderness. Now, I'm biased because I've always spent so much time there each summer, but I think nature holds a special beauty in MI. The way the sunlight shines gold through the dense forests at the end of the day is a memory forever ingrained in my head, and so is the sight of the breathtaking bluffs along the shore of Lake Superior after a twenty eight mile hike around Grand Island in the Upper Peninsula. There's a certain peaceful grace to nature's beauty here, and it's only understood by experiencing it for oneself.