As a college student, coming home for the summer and trying to find work can be difficult because very few places want to hire someone who will only be there for a few months before leaving to go back to school. When looking for employment opportunities, it’s easiest to find work doing a seasonal job. And what’s the most available seasonal job in the summer? A kid’s summer camp counselor. Every day in this job is… unique. For those of you who have never had this job, this is what you can expect as a summer camp counselor:

1. Trying to keep up with the campers’ energy.

We have been running around playing tag for the last 30 minutes, how is no one else tired yet?

2. Playing hand games over and over and over again.

Remember games like concentration 64, chopsticks, or Tarzan the Monkey Man? All those games are playground favorites so they have made their way into camp during free time. The first time you play any of these it gives you a quick nostalgia, but after the 26^th time in a row, you start to what Tarzan the monkey man was doing swinging from a rubber band in the first place.

3. Constantly having to tell kids to sit down.

I don’t know why the kids can’t stay on their bottoms but literally every two minutes I have to tell a kid to sit.

4. Secretly loving art and crafts station.

I can’t be the only one? It’s just so nice to finally sit down and glue some beads together instead of running around. And high key, those iron bead crafts will never not be fun.

5. Constantly censoring yourself.

When you go from being around only young adults to only children sometimes it is hard to stop yourself from shouting curse words when you accidentally stub your toe. However, this has made for some interesting alternative expressions such as “son of beach ball” or “What the helicopter are you doing?”

6. Always being tired.

Waking up 6:30-7:00 am then working with children nonstop for eight hours is exhausting. By the time I finally get home, all the energy I have left is used to shower, get in bed, and prepare for the same thing the next day.

7. Kids always assuming you are more of an adult than you actually are.

I’m nineteen, not thirty. No, I don’t have any kids. No, I’m not married.

8. Answering bizarre questions.

Bless the little chippers’ hearts, but why do they have to be so curious about everything? They ask me the most random question and expect me to have an exact answer to everything. My favorite two questions I’ve been asked so far are “When is the sun going to burn out?” and “How do you know I’m real and not someone else’s dream?”

9. Constantly telling to tell kids to wash their hands.

I’m not sure how kids manage to always be so sticky.

10. Using the phrase “because my boss said no.”

There’s a hand full of things campers can’t do like hug counselors, share food, or stand on chairs. When you tell them to stop they always ask why and the answer is usually “because my boss said no” because explaining risk mitigations and what not would take way too long.

11. Always being busy.

Honestly, summers can get a little boring when you don’t have a job. When working as a camp counselor, you are never bored because a majority of your time is occupying kids and the little time spent at work and chilling at home is appreciated so much more.