Then....this one time....at band camp....

When I was growing up, I was a bit.....awkward.

Don't get me wrong, I had friends. I wasn't a total social outcast. In general I was considered a bit off. There is no real assimilation who had the terrible three against them:

Tallest in the class
Brain of the class
First puberty (sigh)

Plus the obligatory music geek thing. I think I was coming out of it at one point but when you go to school with the same people from age 5, they tend to categorize you in a relatively permanent way.

After 9th grade, however, I went to band camp. (Go on, say it. I know you want to...."One time....at Band Camp...I...[insert awkward confession here]).

The realization hit me.

None of these people knew me.

I was starting fresh.

The history was irrelevant.

And really, really surprisingly....I was popular.

Sure, popularity among band geeks is a relative thing but it opened things up for a new concept.

The blank slate. Reinvention.

I went every year after that (camp scholarships are great - I was the Alpha Band Geek).

I found that the same concept applied for college - for jobs - for transition.

Sometimes you have to go to a place where everyone starts with you at face value.

Maybe it is time for camp.