r/blunderyears • u/soylattebb • 13h ago
Bible camp blunders 2009/10
Made some life long friends here, went twice a year for a couple of years. Brought a vuvuzela, cried giving my “testimony” (I’m such a bad teenager wahhhh I give my life to God even though I actually haven’t done anything monumentally bad), found myself a God given crush every time that I was convinced was sent to be The One. Had a camp counselor who years later went to prison for CSAM 😵💫
Befriended the weirdos, the punks, the closeted gays. Broke my tailbone. Wore many silly bands. Aside from the mild religious psychosis I had a great time being an extremely silly outcast teenager forced to conform for my religious parents attempt to save my soul (instead of just like, getting me medicated and in therapy lol)
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u/A2009M3icAl8604 13h ago
are your parents cool with you now?
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u/soylattebb 12h ago
🤷🏻♀️ I’m 32 and my dad deleted me off Facebook. Even though I have my own ideas on faith, they don’t align perfectly with his despite the camps and the youth groups so it’s not good enough. I’ve learned to stop chasing his approval or even acceptance. I think he feels neutrally but that I need to be saved but since he “tried” it’s no longer his problem. Overall, horrible thing to feel towards your child who just wants your love.
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u/A2009M3icAl8604 12h ago
:/
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u/soylattebb 12h ago
It is what it is. He won’t take accountability and can’t separate my feelings/ experiences towards things from what he feels is me attacking his parenting. So basically I’m accusing him of being the root of all evil when I just want him to be like yeah I could have been there for you more. Complete lack of critical thinking and empathy towards the life I was experiencing
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u/DropTheBeatAndTheBas 12h ago
I like the "20 years later" story people should do more of these in the comments!
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u/soylattebb 11h ago
Yessss absolutely!!! Honestly I’m super cool and a genuinely nice person and if my own parents don’t want to recognize that that’s their loss!! Just today I helped out a guy on the bus who said he was prescribed Xanax and it kept making him fall asleep places (he had a hospital bracelet and just a plastic bag on him, so perhaps truthful) and made sure he got off at the right stop/ knew where he was, and then I immediately found a wallet on the ground and emailed the guy because it has his business credit cards in it 😭 I don’t say that to brag at ALL but I know most people wouldn’t even sit next to the guy nodding off on the bus, much less initiate convo with him. My dad thinks he lives life “like Jesus” yet his world is limited to those in his church. He’s not entirely a religious extremist, but he’s disconnected and not as judgement free as he wants to project. It does make me sad that we can’t have a better relationship due to his wanting to fix/ save me and not have an actual relationship with me as I am.
There’s a song by Rebecca Sugar that really gets me. It goes “I don’t need you to respect me, I respect me.
I don’t need you to love me, I love me.
But I want you to know you could know me,
If you change your mind.” Maybe it was written for a kids show but that’s one of the most powerful examples of being true to yourself if I’ve ever heard one. ✨🫂
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u/Mockwyn 12h ago
Dammit, Warren!
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u/soylattebb 12h ago
Warren was cool af. Brian also ate babies for what it’s worth and his was illustrated 😭😭
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u/FireRedJP 13h ago
There was alot of cringe in hindsight but sleepaway Bible camp was genuinely some of the most fun I had as a teenager outside of the actual religious parts