Ryan ONeil's Blog: Ink Between The Lines - Posts Tagged "plain-old-kirby-carson"

When you think of camp stories, you probably think of campfires, ghost stories, canoe races, and the smell of marshmallows burning just a little too much over the fire.
But camp stories are more than just nostalgic snapshots. They matter—maybe now more than ever.

Camp stories remind us that life isn’t lived through screens.
They show us a world where friendships are made face-to-face, where courage is found not in virtual achievements, but in stepping outside your comfort zone.
They remind us what it's like to be vulnerable—and to grow because of it.

In writing Plain Old Kirby Carson: Summer Camp Chronicles, I wanted to capture that feeling.
The nerves of walking into a cabin full of strangers.
The excitement of late-night whispers when you’re supposed to be asleep.
The pride of standing up for yourself—or for someone else—for the very first time.
The simple joy of realizing you’re braver, stronger, and more yourself than you ever thought you could be.

Camp stories still matter because they show young readers (and maybe remind us as adults) that growing up isn’t about having everything figured out.
It’s about trying.
It’s about laughing after mistakes.
It’s about making memories so real you can still smell the pine needles decades later.

For Kirby, camp is a place where fears are faced, friendships are forged, and confidence is earned the hard way—through experience.
And that’s why I think we need these kinds of stories now, maybe more than we ever did before.

Because whether you’ve been to camp or not, we’ve all had moments when we needed to believe we could find our place, face our fears, and feel at home under the wide-open sky.

Thanks for coming along for the adventure.

—Ryan