American summer camp is unlike anything else, and the mark it leaves is hard to explain until you’ve lived it yourself. So we’re handing over to the people who’ve been there, to hear what camp was really like and how it’s shaped their life since.

First up, this is Thomas’s story.

Morning, Thomas. Let’s dive straight in. Tell us about your time at camp.

Camp is genuinely one of the biggest things that’s ever happened to me. I’ve been out to American summer camp four times now, and every single summer I’ve come away having learned something new about myself that’s carried over into life back home.

I grew up in a small town in South Wales, and four years ago my confidence was low. I had no real sense of where I was heading or what I wanted from life. Travel was always the dream, but it felt too big and too frightening to actually go for. Camp gave me a way in, one that felt supported and safe enough that I could relax and be myself. Since then I’ve backpacked solo through 35 countries, lived abroad, and I’m about to start training as a teacher, which is a path I chose entirely because of my time working with the kids at camp.

Camp itself is chaos, in the best way. One minute you’re in a football match, the next there’s paint everywhere, and before you know it you’re up on stage dancing. You get dropped in among total strangers who somehow turn into your closest friends inside a few days. You bond with a brilliant group of children, and you take in a whole new culture, a different climate, food you’ve never tried, and sights and smells you won’t forget. The energy is off the scale. Nothing else really compares, which is exactly why I kept going back, summer after summer.

What did camp teach you that’s stuck with you day to day?

Confidence, first and foremost. Camp is one of those rare places where you can genuinely be yourself, and that didn’t used to come naturally to me at all. A few summers of feeling comfortable in my own skin and getting to know myself properly have made me far more sure of who I am. I can lead, I can speak up, I can take charge, and that’s set me up well for teaching.

Organisation is the other big one. You’re managing groups of children, planning activities and keeping on top of schedules, and staying calm when the plan falls apart. Once you know you can think on your feet in front of a big group of kids, not much else fazes you.

Tell us about the friendships you made out there.

Honestly, I don’t know where to begin with those. I can’t really put into words how much the people I met at camp have meant to me, long after leaving the States. I’ve got friends for life now, from all over the world, people I’d never have crossed paths with otherwise, and I’m so grateful they’re in my life.

What makes it special is how fast it happens. You’re together constantly, sharing new experiences, challenges and some seriously fun moments, so the friendships feel real and solid almost immediately. I’m still in regular contact with most of my camp friends, and I know that whenever we see each other next we’ll just pick up where we left off. Only last month I was in Stockholm with one of them, and in a few weeks I’m off to Belfast for a round of golf with another.

Camp is fast and full-on, and there’s simply no space to put on a front. Everyone is just themselves, and that’s why the bonds form quicker and hold stronger than a lot of friendships do. It’s genuinely changed the way I connect with people, for the better.

How did it steer your thinking about your career?

Pretty directly, as it turns out. I’ve decided to become a PE teacher, and I start my training this year. I loved camp so much that I knew I wanted to work with children full time. I’ve clocked up over 1,000 hours coaching football in my camp roles, and that’s the experience that got me onto my training course.

More broadly, going to camp shows an employer you’re willing to step outside the bubble of home and operate well beyond your comfort zone, which is where the real growth tends to happen.

And why should other people give camp a go?

For me, camp became somewhere I could reset and feel like myself again. It wasn’t just a few summers away. It changed who I am.

If you’re ready for a change or looking for some direction, camp is for you. If you want to understand yourself better, camp is for you. And if you want to do something that reshapes your future and the way you see the world, camp is for you. Take the leap. I’ll always be glad I did.