If you've never been a summer camp counselor, I'd like to start by saying sorry for your loss. There truly is no better way to spend your summers.
I've spent the last four summers of my college career working at YMCA summer camps, and I've faced a lot of criticism. People don't understand how I don't get tired of getting up at 6 a.m. to do cartwheels through the loop to welcome new campers to my favorite place on Earth. People don't understand why I'm 21 years old and don't have a "real job" yet. Most of my friends don't get how I never get sick of my campers.
What they don't know is that at Camp, I am not just Victoria, I am Miss Victoria.
And with that title, I became a friend, supervisor, role model, superhero, teacher and ultimately, a life changer.
When I put on my uniform every day and walk through those doors with my overdramatic bead necklace that would lead some to believe I am a hoarder, I become the absolute best version of myself that I could ever possibly be. My campers and my staff need that from me. If I'm not at my best, then they have no chance of being at theirs.
So I may not earn $15 an hour or have benefits.
But I have the opportunity to give these children the greatest gift of all: someone who cares.
I have the ability to send these parents off to work each day feeling calm and confident that their child is safe with me. I am gifted with the chance to help teach these campers right from wrong. To look into their adorable little eyes and slowly teach them the value of "using our words."
At my camp, I meet so many people in all walks of life. The best part of my job is the chance to grab their hand and walk alongside them, or even, when necessary, to push them towards their goals and give them what they need to succeed.
There are so many feelings I can't explain.
I can't put into the words the feeling of running down the sidewalk, pulling a golden wagon, with a beaming camper of the week covering their ears to avoid the scream of the camp air horn as they see their car waiting for them with proud parents inside.
I can't tell you how fulfilling it is to be able to grab the hand of a child in a full-scale meltdown and bring them back to Earth. To look into their eyes and tell them to breathe and watch their panic and pain give way to calm, simply because they trust you.
You will never know what it means when a ten-year-old boy with special needs tells you that he can't pie you in the face because you're his best friend in the world and he would never do that to you. Only to see his distress give way to a grin when you tell him that you LOVE to be pied in the face and that you chose him because there's no one you'd rather share that experience with.
I can't begin to explain the feeling you get when a parent gets out of their car to give you a hug and tell you that they are thankful for you. That they see the time and effort and pure, raw love that you have poured into helping their child learn and grow that summer.
I have no way to explain the way I feel when a staff member tells you that they want to be just like you if they are ever promoted because they don't see "Victoria Kroll, hot mess," they see "Miss Victoria: superhero, friend, and nurturer."
There is no greater passion in my life than serving others, and my summers at camp have given that to me. I could serve at the Y being my absolute best for the rest of my life, and I would still not feel that I had done enough to deserve the love, support, and fellowship I have gotten from my staff, families, and campers.
So stop what you're doing, and find a way to get yourself to summer camp. (You can thank me later).
