Growing up, I was lucky enough that my parents were able to send me to Summer camp. I never went to a sleep-away camp; I'm not sure if my 9-year-old self would have been able to handle that. I went to a day camp where we got to swim in a pond, do archery, go tubing on speedboats, have adventures in the woods, and get to go home and sleep in your own bed at the end of the day. I am now a counselor at the same camp I went to every summer, and I could not ask for a better job.
One of my favorite things about being a camp counselor is that I'm forced to lock up my phone. For someone so reliant on my electronic devices, I get excited to lock my cell phone in the office cabinet every day. It's a strange thing to do at any other job, but at camp we need to be focused on campers and locking up our phones eliminates the distraction. Giving up my phone for eight hours a day is freeing. If I didn't work as a camp counselor, I can guarantee I wouldn't turn my phone off at all during the Summer to just enjoy being outside.
Another great thing about being a camp counselor is that I can spend all day outside all Summer. I'll admit that I don't usually spend enough time outside when the weather is nice, and camp gives me an excuse to spend my entire day in the sun. I don't tan very well, but this past summer I actually got a tan that lasted me well into the Fall. I'm grateful to have a job that requires me to spend time outside doing things other than watching Netflix and eating all the food in my house.
One thing I love about being a camp counselor is that I'm pretty much being paid to have a ton of fun. We're encouraged to participate in the things our campers do. I am a counselor for 6 and 7-year-old girls, and they get a kick out of when I actually participate in the same things as them. I play outdoor games with them, help them with their arts and crafts, and get to paddle canoes with them. I'm still the authority figure, and I have a lot of responsibility to take care of them, but I also get to enjoy myself at work. Whether we're catching frogs or playing "Fishy Fishy, Cross My Ocean," I get to have just as good of a time as my campers do.
Being a camp counselor teaches you responsibility like no other job can. After the first week-long session of camp, I began carrying band-aids in my backpack for those moments when a camper "gravely" injured themselves when they grabbed a branch the wrong way. I also learned that you need to count your campers before, during, and after every activity. I've learned how to count a large number of children who can never stand still and sometimes wander back into the bathroom to wash their hands a second time just because. I have to learn names extremely fast because it's important to know who is in your group. You're responsible for returning these children to their parents in one piece at the end of the day, so you are always on the lookout to make sure nobody is missing. As a camp counselor, I have a responsibility not only for myself, but for my campers as well.
I've had quite a few jobs the last several years, but none of them taught me as much about responsibility and the importance of being in the moment like being a camp counselor. I get paid to have fun outside while watching a group of 6 and 7-year-old girls have the time of their lives. I'm grateful to be able to have a job that makes me happy to wake up early and go to work every day.
