For the past four years, I have given up my summers to work at Camp Cho-Yeh in Livingston, Texas. I experience things I never thought were possible, and learn more about life than I ever wanted to. Here are ten reasons why you, too, should give up your summers and work at a summer camp.
1. You meet your best friends at camp.
You go into staff training not knowing anyone. You get thrown into these crazy training such as lifeguarding, ropes, and how to be a good counselor 101 that you are questioning what you got yourself into. You guys got to struggle together, cry together, laugh together, and grow together. After staff training, you know more about everyone than you ever wanted to. Just by working at camp, I now consider those strangers my best friends.
2. You get messy, and you end up loving it.
How would you like to get paid to run through a muddy obstacle course and throw paint on kids? It's not every day that you get to climb tires up 10 feet, slide down and land into a pit full of mud that you think you're stuck in forever, then continuing through ten more obstacles before climbing the last dirt mountain and feeling like you're on top of the world. You end up with mud in places mud doesn't belong, but you weirdly okay with it. The most rewarding part of the night is when you have that one camper (or maybe even campers) who refuses to go through, does it, and ends up loving it and wanting to do it over and over again.
3. You get paid to hang out with kids and be one yourself.
Camp is not a place where you take the kids to an activity and just sit and watch them. Camp is where you take them to the pool, the lake, the dance floor, the paintball field, or wherever and play with them. You live for the times when it's "campers vs. counselors" during dodgeball. You get the chance to go on the high ropes course, or the screamer because that just happens to be where your kids are. You get to pull out that inner child in you that you stored away for years.
4. You get to be silly; I promise no one will judge!
Kid's go to summer camp to have fun. Your job is to make it, so the kids have fun. Kids love it when you let loose and make a fool out of yourself. Camp is a place where you can dance in the middle of the dining hall during lunch or carry a piñata around that kids have their mind set on stealing because you lost "what are the odds." You can wear the weirdest outfit, buy all the Walmart shirts, wear a cone head and call yourself LaTress because you campers love it.What you put into it is what the campers get out of it.
5. You get a killer tan.
Working at a summer camp means being outside 24/7. You get all sorts of tans. One-piece tan, tank top tan, shorts tan and, the most popular one, a Chaco tan. Lifeguarding will guarantee a tan. It is an unspoken competition of who can get the best tan so good luck!
6. You develop new skills that will help you in everyday life.
Camp is not just a place for you to teach your campers skills, they unknowingly teach you skills too. You learn all the aspects of becoming a leader. One of the most common skills that counselors learn is patience. You learn that patience is key to working with kids, and it is a good skill to bring home.
7. You get a hundred new little sisters (or brothers)
After camp is over, your campers turn into your little siblings. They look up to you more than you can even imagine. You are their role model. You build such a fantastic relationship with them that it doesn't end after their parents pick them up. It will be December, and you will still be talking to your campers. You will be there for them through all the break-ups and tough times. You will be there for them when they are questioning their faith, and you will continue to show them God's love and remind them to keep following Him.
8. You finally understand what it means to rely on Christ fully.
You will have campers that are tough to handle. You will have days that you don't think you can keep going. You will get tired and worn out. You will get asked some tough questions that you are unsure how to answer them. Those are just a few of many times you will personally experience what it means to rely on Christ fully. Your faith will be tested, and you, too, will grow in your faith.
9. You get to plant the seed of faith in a kids life, or water it to help it grow.
All kind of kids with all different kind of religious backgrounds come to camp. You have that kid who has never heard about this cool Jesus guy and didn't know they were coming to a Christian camp. You have kids who go to church every Sunday, youth group on Wednesdays, and even every day. Then you have the kids who know who Jesus is but are having a hard time following him due to their past and the struggles they have been through. Your job is not to fix them. Your job is to simply tell them who Jesus is and how much he loves them. When you have the campers who come to camp with a heart on fire for God already, your job is to keep pushing them to grow, teach them something they didn't know. You will make a difference in every kid's life. It is a reward within itself.
10. You gain an experience of a lifetime.
I could tell you all the stories and show you all the pictures of my experience working at a summer camp, but that just won't do justice. You need to experience it for yourself. You will come out a changed person. It is an experience of a lifetime!
Working at summer camp changed my life. I am who I am today because of it. If you want a summer full of adventure, kids, and Jesus I highly recommend working at a summer camp! Check out Camp Cho-Yeh. I promise you won't regret it!
