Things Full House Got Wrong, and a Few They Got Right, About Camp

Last night I was watching reruns of Full House (don't judge), and and the episode where the girls come home from Camp Lakota came on.  The episode's official title is "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night".  As some of you may know, camp is a big part of my life.  I have been volunteering for over 10 years with Arizona Camp Sunrise and Sidekicks, a camp for kids who have/had cancer and their siblings.  If you would like more info about Camp Sunrise or want to get involved, please let me know.  Anyway, this episode had me both shaking my head and agreeing with the depiction of camp and the after effects of coming home from camp.  I tried to find the full episode to post for you all to watch, but had no luck.  So I'll just have to do my best to describe and explain what happened.

The episode starts with the girls, DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle, at what has presumably been a sleep away camp for the summer.  It is their last night and they are saying goodbye to friends.  DJ and Kimmy are counselors, and Stephanie and Michelle are campers.  All seems OK at this point, except for the fact that they are saying goodbye before they actually leave the following day.  Are they going to say goodbye again the next day?  Also, I feel like DJ and Kimmy are too young to be counselors at this type of camp.  But maybe they aren't.  Another aspect they got right was Stephanie counting all the friendship bracelets she got from boys.  In my experience friendship bracelets are extremely popular and campers often go home wearing a ton of them.  Good job, Full House.

Here's where things get a little wonky.  First, Michelle has a rabbit.  Not a pet rabbit, but supposedly a wild rabbit that they nursed back to health from a broken leg.  There are so many things wrong with this.  How do any campers know how heal an injured rabbit?  Do they teach veterinary science at this camp?  Also,  how do they know this wild animal isn't carrying any diseases?  What if it bites a camper?  Can you say lawsuit?  Then, Steve, DJ's boyfriend, comes waltzing into the girl's cabin.  To his credit he covers his eyes and announces his presence as a male counselor, but still, he should knock and wait to be asked in.  Then to make matters worse, DJ runs over to him, hugs him, and they kiss!  What?!  No PDA!!!!  No camp romance!!!!  Just, no!!!  That's not OK, unless you want the campers to start making out too.  I don't know any camp that would allow that.  Finally, Kimmy and DJ try to get the campers to go to sleep early on the last night of camp.  Haha, yea right.  When the campers ask why they need a good night of sleep on the last night, the girls respond so the counselors can go party.  While that may be what counselors do on the last night, you don't tell the campers that because then they will want to sneak out and join the party.

The scene does end with a somewhat realistic scary story telling by Steve.  Here's a clip of that part of the scene.

Then, they all go home and things ring pretty true from there.  The girls start telling their family all about the experiences at camp.  Stephanie keeps talking about her friendship bracelets.  Michelle wants Uncle Jessie to start using her camp nickname, Trail Mix.  And so on.  I feel like this is pretty standard for most kids coming home from camp.  They have a lot of stories to tell.  Although, I'm not sure how many of them want to keep their camp nicknames after the fact.  Or maybe just not the weird nicknames I give them.  The girls also start singing camp songs.  This is very accurate.  Camp songs are incredibly hard to get out of your head, especially Baby Shark.

As the girls are unpacking in their rooms, it is revealed that Michelle brought the rabbit home with her.  Two things: first, these girls have way too much energy after a summer at camp.  My experience tells me that they should have come home and passed out.  Second, how does no one know that Michelle still has the rabbit?!  This is why you shouldn't hire 16 year old counselors who are more concerned about making out with their boyfriends.  So now, the girls, along with Steve, who shows up again, decide to drive back up to camp to release the rabbit.  When they get back to camp, it is pouring rain, the car is stuck in the mud, causing Michelle to be afraid of the mud monster, and the rabbit has escaped.  Oh, and the cabin is empty and looks nothing like it did while they were there for camp.  I can attest to the fact that an empty camp is rather sad looking, so I understand the emotion there.  But let's look past the fact that they probably shouldn't be on the camp site unannounced.  Danny and Joey drive up with the rabbit, the rain miraculously stops, and the car is freed.  As usual, there is a heartfelt moment between Danny and the girls, and then they go home and make smores.  And still, the girls don't seem tired.

Now, I realize that this is just a TV show and they take certain liberties with things, but I felt the need to share my thoughts on something that hits so close to home.  Thanks for reading.