My Camp Experience

A short tale of my 21 days in NYSC Camp.

Hello!

I’m backkkkkkkk

I would have published, or rather finished writing this article last week, but sincerely, being a government pikin has many downsides packed with anxiety and stress. I thought life after camp would be easier and more within my control – turns out, I was so wrong. It’s even been tough to write or read well lately, hence, the delay in publishing this post. But don’t worry, I won’t divert and talk about my life after camp, nay. Let’s stay focused on the real story: my camp experience.

The last twenty-something days have been memorable, stressful, and fun all at the same time. Yes, NYSC camp has that power.

Where do I even begin? I think my excitement is getting in the way of my thoughts. Phewwwww, deep breath!

On the day I was supposed to leave for camp, I started purging. Can you imagine my bad luck? I was so angry at my body! Like, why? Why this wickedness? I took drugs, ate bread—did everything I could think of to stop it. But nothing worked. The purging finally stopped after a while, though, but the pain in my stomach refused to leave me. And that’s how my mummy said she would have to follow me to camp. Hei! Mummy, I’m a big girl o!

Someone should tell my mummy that I’m a big girl.

My mummy didn’t care to listen to me. She took me to the park and was still trying to convince me to let her take me to the campground when God finally sent Erere.... let's just say my mum felt more relaxed after she confirmed I wouldn’t be alone.

When we got to camp and I saw the queue for registration, I almost ran back home (okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but still!). That line was longer than I expected. I knew I had to unlock my inner ‘shine-your-eye’ self to survive. Well, guess what? Even after unleashing that side of me, I was still stuck in registration until 12 AM. And yet, I didn’t get my kit and had to walk around in mufti for the swearing-in ceremony. Let me tell you, wearing mufti while many others were in khaki felt like showing up to a wedding in pajamas. It was honestly the most hilarious yet saddening experience of my first day!

I had to adjust to camp life by waking up at 2 AM every day to bathe and get ready for the day. That was not my original plan! Initially, I aimed to wake up at 3 AM since activities start by 4:30, but some of my hostel mates were already wide awake by 1 AM. And even if I didn’t plan to be up by that time, the noise and movement would wake me because I am not a heavy sleeper. So, alas, I had to change my plan.

The most annoying experience was that the purging didn’t stop for days; it stubbornly refused to respond to my medication until I finally visited the camp clinic—definitely not part of my to-do list!

Funnily enough, even with my unending rumbling tummy, the activities I loved the most in camp were parade and Man O' War. Can you imagine that? After all the warnings I got at home about how I shouldn’t participate in these activities because the stress could affect the cut on my tummy, I didn’t listen. I excitedly joined and crawled under the ropes. Don't ask about the after-effect, pleaseee!

And no, I didn’t fall in love in camp! How would I have done so when I was busy thinking about my tummy?

I was also too busy looking for the perfect spot to sit during SAED, not to pay attention to the lectures, but to sleep. Seriously, tell me, what’s the point of 5 hours of lectures? From 9 AM to 2 PM? My brain just couldn’t! Also, while others were busy falling in love, I was out there cheering for my platoon to win, screaming, “Platoon 1! Platoon 1!!!” at the top of my lungs, as if I would be awarded for it.

I basically became the hype-woman and motivational speaker for my team when I should have been finding my missing rib.

But honestly, the support for my platoon wasn’t a waste of time, because we did win a few things like: Big, Bold, and Beautiful, Mr. Macho, and Miss NYSC (guess we were built for pageantry!). Plus, I met some amazing people in my platoon.

This sums up my camp experience. Byeee.