Tampon problems! Please help!?

I'm 13 and a virgin and I've never had a period. I know it's coming soon though. I'm going to camp this summer and everyone said not to bring pads. They said the high school counselors hang them from the rafters. Everyone said to bring tampons. So, to prepare myself, I decided to insert one about 10 minutes ago. I washed my hands, took my pants and panties off, and went to work, so to speak. I unwrapped the Tampax Pearl Lite (my friend recommended it) tampon. Then, I proceeded to make sure my vagina was lubricated. It was nice and wet and sticky. I tried like 5 times. I reclined on the toilet lid and tipped my bottom up. Then, I put one foot up on the counter, and then one foot on the lid, then I tried squatting, just plain standing... Nothing worked! The tampon would go halfway in (That is, half of the applicator was showing.) and then kind of stop. I would push harder, but it would tickle a lot! And I got REALLY wet. It didn't hurt, just tickled A LOT. How far is it supposed to go in and what am I doing wrong? What should I do differently?! AGHHHHH!! FRUSTRATION!