Today is my second to last day at Camp Hillard, and one of the main things that I’ve picked up while working there is that Pokémon is still huge. I knew that it was still around, but I never expected every kid to have a card collection or for said cards being such an annoyance, due to the kids complaining about making bad trades.
When I was about 10 or 11, Pokémon was what music is for me today: everything. I needed every card, needed to race home from school to watch the television show with my neighbor Randy Ross, and definitely needed to be “the very best, like no one ever was,” to quote the theme song. With the kids in my camp group (ages 7 and 8), they don’t seem to be on quite the same level of addiction…at least not yet.
Yesterday, one of the kids, Eli, gave away a pack of cards for everyone in the group, including the counselors. As I was opening up my pack, I remembered that feeling from a decade ago of getting a fresh new group of cards, and breathlessly hoping for a Charizard or Blastoise.
And now, even as a 21-year-old, a part of me was still hoping to find that oh-so-rare Pokémon card that everyone else would be jealous of.
