Camp: This one’s not so bad

Camp can be fun if you go with the right people.
I’ve never been to a camp. No summer music camps or Girl Scout camps, or anything of that sort. We didn’t sing Kumbaya and cook S’mores, although I wouldn’t hate that. 
No, this was purely educational for me. 
Camp MRC stands for Medical Reserves Corps, and is held on a military base called Camp Ripley. While at camp I encountered plenty of soldier personnel, and plenty of guns and planes to last me a lifetime. 
No, I didn’t go to the camp to learn anything about the military or National Guard, but it did pertain to it. 
I learned the basics of first aid and retested my CPR skills. Everything I learned in three days were all pertaining to saving my own, or someone else’s life. Much more difficult than making friendship bracelets. 
While the walk to the classes and dining halls from the barracks wasn’t warm, I’m just glad I didn’t get hypothermia. Which, by the way, I know how to treat now. 
I’m not used to having such low personal hygiene standards either. As I write this, I’ve just gotten off the bus from Camp Ripley, which by the way is a three-hour bus drive, and I haven’t showered in about three days. 
Luckily, no one else seemed to care either, so I just ignored my messy hair. 
Also, the dining hall makes really good food, and it’s the first time I’ve eaten three actual whole meals a day. They also have a soft-serve ice cream machine in the dining hall, and I won’t tell you how much I had. 
While at camp I learned basic but needed skills about patient care and first aid. Anything from learning how to insert an IV and how to make a splint for an arm. 
Going into camp I realized I wasn’t good at coming up with solutions on the spot. I like to stop and think. 
Making mistakes is a big no-no for me. But as you go along, and as they throw you into more scenarios, you realize that practice won’t really prepare you for real-life things such as these emergency situations, and that all you can really do is know. 
I’m not sure if that makes sense to anyone else, but while wrapping my arm might improve my wrapping skills, it won’t be the same in any real-life situation. You just have to do, and not think. Which sounds incredibly stupid, but somehow makes compete sense to me. 
Also, I got to get into a Black Hawk helicopter, so you are allowed to be jealous.