This summer, I had the opportunity to be a camp counselor at Camp DeSoto, a camp that I attended growing up. This summer was not at all what I expected. It was hard and exhausting, but so good. I learned about myself and how I love and lead. Three months after camp, I can see the effects that being a counselor has had on my life. Here are some lessons I learned at camp that have stuck with me as I came down from the mountain.
1. Try things that scare you.
This summer, I did plenty of things that I was scared to do. Notably, I was head of fitness, which meant I taught core and cardio classes for most of my days. I was scared because I felt like I wasn't in good enough shape and didn't know enough about fitness to lead the classes, but I dove in and ended up loving it. That directly translates into teaching Zumba on campus. I was scared to teach because I didn't know if people would want to come to my classes, but teaching fitness at camp helped me overcome my fear of teaching on campus.
And I've seen this play out in other aspects of my life. I'm doing things that are outside of my comfort zone, and it's amazing to see how this has helped me grow as a person.
2. Say no.
This is a hard one for me. I'm usually a "Yes Woman" who says yes to everything, leading to a busy, over-committed schedule. This summer, I had to say no to a lot of things in order to work at camp. I had to say no to babysitting opportunities, to finding a cool job or internship and to hanging out with friends who were in town for the summer. It was so worth saying no to all of those things to be fully present at camp.
Now, I'm trying to say no to things that are going to clutter up my schedule. I'm trying to prioritize and remember that it is more important to be fully somewhere--whether it's dinner with friends or RUF or a meeting--than to be running from place to place, never fully invested in what I'm doing because I'm too busy thinking about what's coming next.
3. It's OK to ask for help.
Asking for help does not come naturally to me. I like to do things myself and keep all my burdens inside. I don't like looking weak or being vulnerable. But, this summer, things came up where I needed to ask for hep. I was put in situations where I literally couldn't do it myself and that I had to ask other counselors, head counselors or head staff to help me. Whether it was asking a member of serve staff to look after my cabin when I was taking a night off or going to the head counselor because I was unsure of how to handle a situation, I asked so many people for help this summer.
Now, I'm more comfortable with asking my friends for help when I need it. I feel better about talking to them and letting them really hear me. I am more inclined to really let them know what is going on in my life. This has been so helpful as I balance all the craziness that is my life. I have felt better about myself and the season of life that I am in because I am being honest about the really good things and the really not-so-good things going on.
These three lessons have stuck with me. I have started to learn them anew as I try scary things, say no and ask for help at college and at home. I learned these lessons on the mountain, but they have already had lasting effects.
