This is my second year being a camp counselor. More specifically than that, this is my second year being a 3 to 5-year-old camp counselor. Now, when you read the age group I’m working with, your first question is probably how on Earth do you have the patience? Well, my answer to that is I’ve learned to grow patience while working with them.

Being a camp counselor is one of those jobs that requires you to be active, up, and moving. There’s never a dull moment. Each and every day is filled with joy, laughter, and making fun of yourself. And when I say making fun of yourself, I really mean it. My typical camp day consist of first helping with pre-camp, where we allow the kids to play freely amongst each other. Then I usually get the little ones together for a group game before we start our camp day. We usually start with an opening ceremony where we introduce the highlights for the day, go over a few camp rules, and sing a few camp songs. Right after, we rotate to different stations before lunch time. The stations can include arts and crafts projects to going outside on an adventure. Chill time is the next thing on our list, and this is the time for our little discoverers to rest up before we continue our big day. Once they’re up, we do more rotations which equals more fun for them. Followed by the last set of rotations is snack time then closing ceremony. Closing ceremony is just like opening, where we go over highlights and sing songs. The campers are then dismissed, some go home to their parents, and some go to post camp to play while they wait for their parents.

Doesn’t seem like a lot, does it? Well, it can be when you’re dealing with a group full of energized little kids. But I do this job because of the smiling faces you see after each day. It brings me joy knowing I’ve made a little one's day. A child’s joy and laughter is something that I enjoy and is something that we must not take for granted. When those kids go home to their parents, each and every one of them are always excited to tell their parents what they did for the day. You see their eyes light up when they talk about the day. When a child’s parent comes up to us and says that we are making their day it is one of the best things you can hear. It makes me feel great knowing I’m making an impact on a child.

I remember when I was younger I used to go to summer camp. I had so much fun and made a lot of friends as well. I remember I used to go home and tell my parents everything I had done at camp. And now that I’m older, I’m able to give the same joy I had to someone else. This job is definitely worth my summer.