Hmm…I probably look like the “please read my essay and give feedback!” guy around here. Given the chance I’d help anyone else who posts an essay of his/her own, honest! 
Anyway, here we go…
<hr>
Beachside State Park in Oregon was my one chance during the summer to get away from stressful city life, revert to chopping my own firewood, sleep in a tent and survive without doing my laundry for a while. As my two friends and I entered the park and made some initial observations, I was shocked.
Every second camping spot housed a giant made of propane tanks, off-white panels, refrigerators, bathrooms and televisions. For a moment I doubted we were at the right place. The people inside these mammoths, I thought, were not camping: They had simply moved their second homes to a new location! I helped pitch our tent and started a fire for the night instead of staring at these recreational vehicles.
I walked around the campground the next day. With every step I felt more satisfied that I had not just awoken inside an RVs warm bed, with coffee on the stove and eggs on the table. Along with this simple gratification I felt a barrier between me and the people within these oversized portable houses. We certainly had different definitions of camping: I was raised on the belief that when one camps he or she should try to simulate the environment in which people hundreds of years ago had to live. For the rest of the day I tried to answer the question of why one would bring an RV into the wilderness instead of facing the challenge of living without most modern conveniences.
But by the end of our trip, something had clicked in my mind. Three days of noticing the fun people who camped in RVs were having had made me less concerned with how they enjoyed nature and more observant of the fact that everyone values respect towards fellow humans. I suppose it was my temporary disconnection with an environment full of soft carpet, gas ovens and computers that eventually let me disconnect with a dogmatic belief I had never questioned. My friends and I even got to know a couple teenagers of families who were staying in RVs. They were no different than I was when it came to enjoying the sound of birds chirping, sticking my toes in warm sand and getting away from the city for a while.
A part of my growing up has been considering different kinds of happiness. Beachside taught me to respect others ways of life and to accept their differences. This was a lesson that will be beneficial to me in college and during my adult life. I can say with slightly awkward pride that recreational vehicles have changed my outlook on life.
<hr>