When I was a camper, I looked up to my counselors. I thought about how cool they were, asked them for advice about boys and cried to them when I missed home. The transition from camper to counselor was definitely not what I expected. I went in with the assumption that because I had been a camper my entire life, I would know how to be a counselor.
After the first week of my first summer as a counselor ended, I was exhausted. I had never had so many people relying on me for so much in my entire life. Until then, no one had ever needed me to take them to the bathroom, change them out of their wet bathing suits, take them from activity to activity or perform a list of tasks that, at this point in life, seemed autonomous to me. I texted my old camp counselors, “thank you so much for dealing with all my shit, I understand now.”
Being a camp counselor is so much more than just a fun summer gig or an easy job where you can hang outside with your friends. I don’t sit around and work on my tan while 12 second graders run-a-muck (not that I could actually tan without burning, but I digress).
Being a camp counselor means being responsible for the most important person in a parent’s life. Being a camp counselor is learning that, although we’d like it to, the world doesn’t revolve around us. Being a camp counselor means putting others' needs before your own. It’s adopting crazy kids whom you’ve never met, learning that each of them has their own likes and dislikes, and adapting to make sure that each and every one of them is getting exactly what they need.
If you don’t know how to let go and make a fool of yourself, be a camp counselor. You’ll find yourself dressed up like a cowboy or a minion, covered in whipped cream and eating pie with your arms tied behind your back (maybe all at once, if you’re lucky). If you think you have to look great everyday, be a camp counselor. You’ll find yourself with your hair up, covered in mud or jumping fully clothed in the pool. If you haven’t found your voice yet, be a camp counselor. You’ll find yourself cheering at the top of your lungs for your camper who scored their first goal at soccer or for your color war team that is a second behind in the apache relay.
Being a camp counselor is not easy and it’s definitely not for everyone. Being a counselor has taught me so much, and I can only attribute these changes in my life to the job I love more than anything.
