Camping--by Lindsey Wiker

I hadn't gone camping in years. One could argue that I had never been camping properly, because the only other time I had slept outdoors in a tent was in my friend's backyard in middle school. So to go out to a campsite and sleep in the "real outdoors" was a big step for me.
It isn't that I dislike communing with nature. It's one of my favorite passtimes. It's just that sleeping on the ground with no flushing toilet nearby doesn't exactly get me excited. This time I was going to do it. Two friends and I headed out with a few snacks, a tent, and an air mattress(a luxury I had to take!) and left campus for an escape from daily college life.
It was a real treat. Probably one of the best parts was canoeing. I had never done this before either, and I loved every minute of it. It is one of the best ways to interact with water--flowing with or struggling against the current. My friends and I started out talking with each other, but soon words left us, and we remained in silent communication with the natural world for the remainder of the time we spent out on the water.
Nighttime began differently. I remember feeling uncomfortable squeezing onto the too-small air matress we had to share. I wondered how I would ever get to sleep. This attitude changed as I conversed with my friends, lying on my back and looking through the tent to the evening sky. As things got cozier, the other two fell asleep, but I remained awake. I'm used to the quiet of nature, but not late at night. It was deathly quiet. I'm usually around my roomates, my computer, and my television when I go to bed. I began to feel uncomfortable again. Before I could think of how to calm myself, the woods began to soothe me. My mind cleared of all concerns. My breathing and the starry sky were the only things I became aware of, and I feel into perhaps the deepest sleep I had experienced in a long time.