Being one of the five guys here this semester at Maine Coast Semester, I was really nervous- these guys were the people I was going to be living with for four months. Previously I have done sleep-away camp during summers for numerous things such as Hunter’s safety, Primitive Living, and the most recent Junior Maine Guide. Most of these camps were for a week out of the summer, but with JMG I spent a month with people my age out in the woods. That’s the whole reason I’m here actually, but that’s off-topic. Anyway, I have had some experiences living and sleeping in close quarters with people my age, but for FOUR months, that’s long! Let me rewind a bit. 

About three days before I set off to Maine Coast Semester the staff held a semester-wide zoom meeting for all 36 of us. I was a little late to the party with the whole enrolling thing, so I wasn’t at any of the previous meetings they held, nor had I seen campus yet. So when I hopped on the zoom meeting I realized for the first time that there were only five guys this semester. Four random guys that I had never met before. I was really nervous rolling on up into the Chewonki parking lot for the first time ever. My parents helped me unload and checked me in, they took a few pictures then off they went. I was alone with a bunch of people I had never met before.

When I got over to Ranch (my cabin), no one was there. I unpacked some of my stuff and got my bed made. As I sat on my bed admiring the cabin I was going to be in for a while one of my cabin mates came in. I was a bit shy, but him being an extrovert started a conversation up real fast. I got to know him and heard about some of my other cabin mates. Then came another, we introduced ourselves and played some cards for a long while. The two cabin mates that came in while we were playing quickly joined. My nervousness went right away and I could tell that this was a good ol’ group of people I was going to be bunking with for four months. 

To this day, nearly a month in, we are still getting closer and closer. We are all different and you can tell, but you can also tell we are all really close with each other. A couple of us sat in front of the fireplace this past night and talked till 11 at night, it was awesome. The time is going by really fast, too fast honestly. I’m going to miss my brothers when we have to go home. Until then though, we are going to keep having a blast together. 

Logan McLean, Leavitt High School, Leeds, ME