What is Camp Indie?
As I woke up this morning from my cozy bed in Houston, I wish I had been waking up from my camp bed in Club Getaway, still wanting to be at the Camp Indie Conference. As I type this, I still carry the high endorphins from all the fun I had at camp. I can’t wait to share what transformative experience I had there.
I heard about Camp Indie In April 2023 from my friend Marivel from the Queen of Trips on Instagram. She’s a Columbian breast cancer survivor who travels all over the world. She told me about Camp Indie. What is it? I asked. She said it was a summer camp conference for adults where you get to play. Marivel said she was going to heal her inner child. All I heard was inner child, camp, and play, and I was intrigued. You see, I, too, was on a mission to do things to heal my inner child and let the eight-year-old version of me play.
You see, Marivel and I come from Latino communities. And in most Latin communities, children are not sent away for summer camp; God no! Too much fear was instilled in that generation to let us go alone to a summer camp. And secondly, most Latin communities did not have the finances to do something like that. In the 80s and ’90s, I watched on TV how Americans left for summer camp each year and enjoyed fun activities at the camp, like swimming in the lake, meeting new friends, running, and playing. As a Latina, I was an American and wanted to partake in these activities. I grew up sheltered, and spending a night at a friend’s house was a no-no, much less leaving miles away to let me go to a camp. As a child, I felt like I was going through my own identity crisis because I was born an American and wanted to partake in what that meant for a child like me. But I was still held down by the culture of Latin generational customs rooted in fear.
So heck ya! I signed up for Camp Indie. I took a risk, did a little research, and joined up. I saw that Camp Indie was a conference for anyone who is and or wants or thinks about becoming a digital nomad and connecting with like-minded people. Most of all, it was for adventure seekers, and I was all the above. I, too, was on the journey of finding a way to work from home and have the freedom to travel. I was sold on the conference experience at a Summer camp, so I signed up. Marivel and I live in different states. We flew into New York and embarked on a road trip from New York to Kent, Connecticut, to our destination club Getaway.
What Camp Activities Were Available?
When we arrived at the Camp Indie Conference, we were greeted with a warm welcome from the Club Getaway staff. We got real Camp experience. Marivel and I shared a room with two other women. Talking about leaping, I had never bunked rooms with strangers, which was exciting. Upon arrival, we were gathered into the tent, had dinner, and listened to the first speaker, Ray Blakney, an award-winning Filipino-American entrepreneur with over a decade of experience building (bootstrapping) and operating six and 7-figure location independent businesses. He spoke about his limited belief in himself and overcoming that obstacle. The best way I can describe the conference is this; it has many layers. First, the Camp food was fantastic; I thought I was at a five-star hotel. Every morning there was yoga and taking the cold plunge into the lake to wake your ass up! It was Fantastic. Every morning after breakfast, we had a speaker.
The next day was Saturday, and we spent a full day of activities and fun throughout the weekend. I got to partake in many activities for the first time in camp. Zip Lining, getting in the lake water, which I had never done before, and kayaking alone in the wilderness was great reflective time for me. Marivel and I went sky cycling together, a first for us both. That moment in the sky cycling was transformative for us both to do something brave while feeling fear. It was transformative for us, for sure. We had a 90s-themed dance party, and although I had inhibitions about dancing alone or in front of people, the music didn’t take long to move my body. I found the party quite healing because music allows you to move your womb and body and express yourself, and I did all those things. I witnessed other people’s nervousness too, but we all partook in fun because it was a safe space of no judgment.
The Inner Work of Healing
Apart from all the physical activities, I participated in inner work activities. Like yoga, breath work, and alignment group work, boy, was that intense. The inner work sessions were a great balance to our fun at the camp. Now that I think about it… it was all medicine. The medicine of laughter, joy, connecting with new people, nature, and giving eight-year-old little girl version permission to come out and play. Because then I would not be judged, hurt, or stopped from having unconditional fun.
I cried so much during the inner work sessions I felt like a metaphorical onion. Attending the sessions allowed me to peel off layers of hurt, pent-up emotions because I know my body keeps the score of the emotional and physical pain; these sessions helped purge some of those built-up feelings that were not serving my nervous system. Jacob Sokol was the facilitator who held these sessions. Jacob and his team were gentle and supportive, facilitating many campers seeking healing or trying something new. My greatest takeaway from these sessions was seeing the vulnerability of humanity. I witnessed pain, hurt, trauma, and vulnerability during these sessions.
Another favorite part of the conference was the pop-ups. During the weekend, between the speakers, Camp Indie allowed the campers who attended to create their pop-up session to discuss whatever they wanted that served the community. My favorite pop-up I attended was facilitated by Christine Lozada, who gave a beginner’s crash course about flying drones. What an intimidating subject, right? We think this is only for nerdy techy men; boy, was I wrong. Christine has a wheelhouse of knowledge and shared gems about drone knowledge. She was transparent as we asked her many questions. Her pop-up allowed me to remove the biased thoughts about drones. What’s more, only a few certified women drones do this. I had the privilege to thank Christine for sharing her story, and I am going to buy myself a drone because my one takeaway was that the drones could be navigated with a push of a button.
I can’t leave without talking about the team at Camp Indie and the people who attended the conference. I made so many connections. I finally met all the great people at Camp Indie who facilitated this conference, like Travis, Vanessa, Melissa, Lily, Hannah, and more.
My Takeaway from Summer Camp
I made friends with people, and I made connections. I found people who want to help and connect me to grow my Women Want Wellness mission. I had never witnessed such grace. I left the conference wanting to stay longer but was also equipped with new connections I now need to nourish. But most of all, I left the camp with more clarity to embark on the next step of my personal development and Women Want Wellness business adventure.
At first, I was so concerned about not feeling welcome about coming to camp because of my insecurities and imposter syndrome. But overall, I witnessed the rawness of humanity with the stillness of awareness. I witnessed myself transcend emotionally and spiritually. Physically I felt like I released a ton of bricks from my emotional body. I hope you have enjoyed this reading as much as I enjoyed writing it. Camp Indie has an online community you can join; definitely check them out, and take advantage of the opportunity to join next year’s adventure.
