For the past three years, I have helped out at my local community theatre with their summer camps. It was a wonderful opportunity to get involved in the place I adore the most, get more experience in an environment with students, and plus see amazing things happen especially with the youth. There have been numerous things that I have learned during my time helping out that I believe will help me out in my future and probably other things counselors do in any type of summer camp that is offered. Here are the seven that I would I have learned and cherished the most.
1. Learning to be Patient
Dealing with kids for a full day can be tiring and you will probably be asked over 100 questions a day and majority of them will be "can I use the bathroom." This can get very frustrating especially when myself or the director is busy doing something and they keep on getting interrupted over and over again. You can't yell at them because they are children and are very fragile so you just have to comply to them to ensure there are no water works coming from them. With this though, you learn to have patience on both ends of the situation. On the receiving end there might be times in life where you are under pressure and you have to keep your cool. Losing your cool looks bad on you and you don't want that to happen. Now on the end where you are asking questions and such you learn by just waiting. Is the question you have to ask important right now or can it wait? Plus you can easily tell when the person is about to snap and you don't want to be that "lucky" person to have your question be the one that is answered from the person yelling at you. Patience is the key and is a good trait to have.
2. Learning to have a Filter
When you are around children and you are someone like me who tends to have a "colorful" vocabulary. A vocabulary that should not be heard around children because if they use that vocabulary in front of parents... then lots of red flags would be waved. I have learned to ensure that all of the words that have come out of my mouth when around children are G, PG, and PG-13. The worse word I could possibly get away with around them is crap... which in some households that is a bad word, haha. This is beneficial for me because as a future educator I have to have a filter even teaching high school. Plus in whatever professional environment you are in you need to have professional words. It makes you look better even though there are so many times a day I want to use my "fancy" adjectives... but sadly I have to filter it out in regards of the children.
3. Learning to be Animated
You have to be animated with these children. Being larger than life instead of dull paint drying can motivate them to do a lot especially on a Wednesday when everyone is starting to get tired. Putting a little pep to just anything makes it more exciting and when dealing with 40+ children 5 days a week you need all of the pep you can get to survive.
4. Learning that I Don't Want Children
If you are someone who wants children, I advise you to counsel a summer camp and then see how you feel about children. They are great and everything, but can be tiring. Numerous times they were nature’s birth control. I feel like that should be taught in high school during sex ed. Instead of talking about not having sex since you will get pregnant and die (we aren’t in the 1400’s) just throw those kids in a daycare for a day and they will make sure to stay protected. This is another reason why I want to be a teacher. I can handle them for a couple of hours, but not 24/7 and to any parents who can master that I applaud you and please tell me your secrets.
5. Learning that Children are Sometimes Better than Adults.
Children are really fascinating and makes me wonder why certain people only tolerated me when I was a cute innocent child. Since they don’t know all of the horrors that the real world has, they have a wonderful imagination and some of the things they say are just to die for. Adults can be Debbie Downers while children are Peppy Patties. It does make my day when a child comes to me and tells me what they saw on T.V or this cool bug they found on the ground instead of an adult telling me that they have tax issues or tired of Donna being a you know what (I’m just making these up, none of these adult situations are real…that I have experience yet.)They are a breath of fresh air especially in a chaotic world that I call my life and I enjoy that.
Instead of getting drinks with the friends on a Monday talking about how this week is already horrible, I rather be coloring with children and not worry about them making fun of my art...since I suck at drawing for now, haha.6. Learning to be Responsible
Being a counselor you have to be responsible a lot. It ranges from being on your p’s and q’s, making sure the children don’t kill each other, and ensuring that everything is ok. That might sound simple, but it isn’t. This has helped me to be accountable for my actions and always be prepared which are both strong qualities someone should have in a successful life. Taking ownership when shit hits the fan and being prepared for the worst case scenario (which is why I have like 20 plans for everything I do) is a good thing to have and people will respect that instead of someone who doesn’t do what I just said. Being a counselor you have a lot riding on you and whoever is the director of the camp trusted you to be the best you can be since you are representing them, yourself, and even the place that is having the camp and if you don’t these things then it would look bad on everyone. Responsibility will get you far.
7. Learning to just have Fun
As stated earlier you need responsibility in your life, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have fun. You need a little bit of fun in your life if not then you will be bald by 20. I learned that for being a counselor especially playing the games with the kids. It is fun interacting with them and all the stress that I had like 20 minutes ago goes away and I’m having fun…till a kid cheats and there is yelling everywhere. That is lesson for anything you do. Yes, things will get tough and you have to get everything done with work, but still make time for fun. It is a great way to keep peace and calm in your life…. or you will end up like Chandler Bing and just be a hot mess but successful in your job. Spoiler alert, there is a happy medium in all of this.
Overall, every time I get an opportunity to be a camp counselor I say yes. It is a wonderful experience showcasing the things that I love to the new generation and hopefully they can spread more of the love of that thing as well. It is an eye opener to my future, and it has helped shaped me be a better person in my life and maybe these children as well. It makes the journey being a teacher richer and I can’t wait when I finally have my own classroom and to spend 180 days doing the thing I love the most.
