Becoming a camp counselor is an incredible opportunity that many young adults take part in during the summer months. It provides food, shelter, and great experiences all while getting paid. During the summer weeks and months, memories are created that will last a lifetime, and the skills acquired during this time will be used forever. Watching over different groups of 10 to 12 children every week may not seem like the
ideal summer situation, but let me tell you otherwise.1. You get to act like a kid again and be as weird as you want with no judgment.
Who is the one who has to demonstrate how to make a friendship bracelet? You. How to canoe? You. How to play games? Sing “repeat after me” songs obnoxiously loud? How to hold the bow and arrow in archery? YOU. All the counselors must demonstrate the activity, so naturally, your skills for shooting that pine cone during archery will improve as well as your ability to make five bracelets and seven lanyards in one day. No one judges you for singing "Baby Shark" loudly before meals or when you put your elbows on the table and have to skip around flag pole. Everyone is here to have a good time, and the sillier you are, the better it will be.
2. You lose sight of superficial things.
With constant dirt under your fingernails and a smile on your face, you come to realize what truly is important in this world. When the line for showers is often out the door, your time for showering is forgotten. Dry shampoo, pony tail holders, sunscreen, and bug spray are your new best friends. Of course, we do find time to shower, but the main concern is making sure your kids are ready. Makeup is no longer a staple in your routine since who will really notice that your eyelids are covered in the Naked 3 pallet? When you rub your eyes after a long beach day, all you get are smeared mascara eyes with smudged eye liner and a mirror is not often around to help. No one cares if your hair is a little greasy nor do they care that your clothes are wrinkled. It's all part of the experience.
3. Your coworkers become family (including the good and the bad).
Being around the same 10 (or more) people can be exhausting and frustrating at times. Especially when you wanted to lead that song at camp fire, and they decided to do it before you. Or when they (obviously) forgot to tell you that breakfast would be at 7:15 a.m. and you woke your kids up to be ready at 7 a.m. But they also are the ones you get together with once the kids are asleep and get tips on how to make sure [insert camper name here] doesn’t get homesick. Your coworkers are there to make fun of you when you have to make a run to the nurse five times during the same night and the ones to hand you a coffee the next morning. They see you at your best and at your worst. There is rarely time to yourself, and these people are more than likely to be some of the friends that will last a lifetime.
4. Ready or not, you become a leader.
The average age group can range from 8 to 13, and during that week of camp with this group, you are their primary caretaker. Everyone becomes a mom to these little campers, and they look to you for everything under the sun. You wake them up, get them ready for the day, make sure they are content and safe, and everything in between. If you're not involved and having a great time, then why will they? Also, you learn to be flexible. Nothing will ever go as planned during camp. A camper will get sick, a counselor will be sick, the weather will change, SOMETHING will make the schedule change, and you must make the best of it. You will learn the tricks of the trade, how to entertain kids for hours on end with games and songs, all the while figuring out how to deal with a sticky situation.
5. It will be like nothing you've ever experienced.
Where else will you be in nature, watching over campers, surviving on little sleep and a ton of coffee? A place where you become a leader overnight and are put into situations that will force you out of your comfort zone and give you more life skills. And where else can you drink as many coffees as you want in a day and it be socially acceptable? Camp is unlike any other place, and the amount of silliness, love, and support that goes on can't be found anywhere else. No matter where you are, you will always look back fondly at your time during camp and smile because of the memories you made, friendships you forged, and campers lives you changed in the process.
