“Children are not a distraction from more important work, they are the most important work.” – C.S. Lewis
All my life I have surrounded my self with children, not only because the joy they bring me but also because they are the funniest and most thought-provoking people I know. (Trust me, I am well aware I just described children as thought-provoking). From the handful of little cousins I have, to the children I have babysat and the daycares I have worked at; I have realized what our world needs. Our world needs a dose of five-year-old thoughts with a lot of love, giggles and happiness.
In high school I worked at a daycare, mostly with the infants and toddlers which was amazing because I LOVE babies. Seriously, ¾ of my heart is consumed for my love for babies. This summer, though, I got the privilege to be a camp counselor to five and six-year-olds for eight weeks. Which leads me to what I am going to tell you, the lessons I have learned from an age group that thinks the word poop is the funniest thing in the world and will do almost anything for a little bribery of a juice box and goldfish. This summer I have learned some of the greatest lessons I have ever been taught and I would like to share them with you, so, thank you to the sticky, dirt covered hands that have grasped my heart for reminding me of the most important things in life.
(these lessons will more than likely be told through stories that have taken place while being a camp counselor)
Lesson #1 – differences
The camp that I worked at was in downtown Indianapolis therefore filling the camp with faces of different race, upbringing and religion. It brought kids that had a million differences together under one roof to play and laugh and cause as much mischief as possible. Do you know what the difference is between my campers and the adults of today? My campers saw that someone could run really fast, that someone could make the coolest bracelet, that someone’s mom always packed the best lunch for them. They noticed that there was a little girl with the coolest braids and a little boy that always seemed to look out for the girls. My campers took notice to who could win at Uno every time and who always seemed to be the best sport. But you know what they didn’t notice, the one thing that so many adults notice first, they didn’t point out that someone’s skin was a different color or that someone didn’t dress the same that they did and even if they did, do you know what is amazing? They didn’t care, my sweet five year olds didn’t care what race you were, my sweet five year olds cared that there was always a friend to play cards with and always someone who was willing to share their cookies. Maybe if we all started looking at the inside, before judging the outside, then we would make the world a better place.
Lesson 2- Thankfulness
If you have ever spent an enormous amount of time with children you are probably aware that they are brutally honest and will tell you everything. A little boy was eating lunch with me and I was asking about his family because I knew he was from china. He told me that his dad still lived in China in order to make money for his family to be in the United States and that he visited him once a year. Its amazing that these sweet little faces can go through so much that many of us haven’t and it reminds us to not take our lives for granted. There also was a little girl who had celiac disease and it was amazing because at the age of six she was her biggest advocate. She could tell you absolutely every thing about it and knew exactly what to do. These stories make me realize that sometimes my mere problems that I think are bigger than the world don’t really matter. So thank you sweet kids for dealing with events some of us will never have to and still being so happy.
These are the two main lessons I have learned this summer and I am so thankful that I was able to be a camp counselor. I have a passion to continue to impact these lives of children even if it is through a small act of playing a card game with them. But in the end they don’t know that they are impacting me more than I ever will the.
