#campvc

Dear Camp VC,

You changed my life.

I arrived at camp carrying a heavy kind of exhaustion. I was nervous, acutely self-conscious, and weighed down by a low self-esteem that had been quietly building for years. Navigating environments day after day that simply didn't leave room for my true self had taken a toll. Somewhere along the line, between the daily grind and the rigid expectations of the real world, I had forgotten who I was. I forgot what I was actually capable of.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve felt like I didn't quite fit anywhere. I always seemed to be either "too much" for one group or "not enough" for another. My passions have always been too scattered to neatly categorise, and because I couldn't just pick one path, I struggled to find my people. I've never had many friends who truly understood that, and I’d never really met anyone like me.

But Camp VC, you changed that almost the second I stepped onto the grounds.

There is a rare kind of electricity that sparks when a space is carved out entirely for us. Immediately, strangers became instant cheerleaders, supporting me and cheering me on no matter what I was doing—or how badly I was doing it. You gave me the confidence and the profound safety to try completely new things. Whether it was attempting to wrap my tongue around a whole other language like Welsh, standing up in front of a crowd to dance, or simply taking my top off without a second thought about who was watching or who cared—the fear of judgement was completely gone. I was surrounded by a community that didn't just accept my authentic self, but celebrated it.

But the true impact of the weekend didn't fully hit me until it was over. Leaving the festival and stepping back into the "real world" was incredibly jarring. It was a shock to the system that made me realise just how repressed we are in our day-to-day lives, and how hyper-conscious society has conditioned us to be. I never truly understood how repressed women were, or the weight of everything that had been quietly taken from us, until you showed me what it felt like to have it all back.

Thank you for the grit, the profound connection, and the safe space to finally breathe. I came looking for an escape for a few days, but you gave me back myself.

Forever changed,

Next weekend I’m going to Camp VC. My first time going and I can’t wait.

A weekend of girls doing it for themselves. Skateboarding, creativity, climbing, hiking, biking, lifting, tattoos, singing, dancing, art.