I worked as a camp counselor last summer for a camp on the East Coast. My experience was filled with joy and love and littered with a few experiences of homesickness and frustration. Through it all, I found some life-long friends and life-long lessons. The most important thing that I learned was to never lose your sense of humor.
Nights away
When a fun night on the town includes piling into a car and driving thirty minutes to an ice cream shop, and then to the Walmart, you are probably a camp counselor. Two times a week we made the drive to a small nearby town to sit and eat ice cream for two hours, and then go and wander around Walmart until our freedom ended and had to go back to camp. In the end, you must tiptoe back to your bed, so you do not wake up any of your campers.
Lights out
There is just no convenient time to shut off the lights. Countdown from 30 and hear the assorted cries, whines, and screams of stress to climb into beds. When you hit 0, it is not quiet. There will still be So. Many. Questions. "No I do not have the schedule for tomorrow, I do not know what is for dinner, and I do not know if dinner tomorrow is a surprise spirit night."
Nurse visits
GiphySomehow, I am not convinced that your leg is broken, but to make sure that I do not get in trouble lets go to the nurse. "Oh, You can't walk? Okay, I guess I will carry you across camp…" Then, your camper turns out to be A-OKAY.
Shower hour
No, it is not okay to run around the cabin, the outdoors, or even in the bathroom without clothes. Please put a robe on…
SUNSCREEN, WATER, BUGSPRAY
A break in the schedule is synonymous with any one of these phrases. Early to an activity, apply sunscreen and refill water. Early to a meal, drink up, ladies. Every outfit change in the day means that there will be allotted time to apply sunscreen and/or bug spray.
"Shoes and socks"
No matter where you are or what time of day it is, there will be one of your tiny humans missing a shoe. Telling campers to wear their shoes will become second nature to you. You will say it more often than anything else in the summer.
Flash light time
GiphyThe ability to shine their flashlights around the room has unparallel value to ten 9-year-olds. Flashlight time is the biggest reward and can be the largest incentive to hurry up or clean the cabin.
COLOR WAR
GiphyThe epitome of camp activities. There are games for each age group and even the counselors get to join. The camp is divided into two colors, the camp colors, and every game they play over the course of the week has points to win Color War. Organized by the oldest campers, it can be stressful, but over everything, it was the best week of camp by far.
Visiting day
This day will get you right in the feels. When your first camper leaps into their mother's arms, you will be a puddle. After the tears and introductions die down, there will be the most amazing food you have had all summer long. Then come the much-dreaded goodbyes. This was hands down the hardest day of camp, but after all the parents are gone, there are so many treats, stickers, and random toys to go around for everyone.
"Just one more bite"
Please eat one more bite… You will not survive the summer if you only eat cucumbers and pb&j all summer. There will be one meal that all your campers will not like, and it will probably include white rice. You will become accustomed to negotiations with tiny humans to eat everything on their plates.
The Talking Stick
GiphyTo help make sure that everyone gets a fair chance at talking right? No. You wish, everyone starts talking over each other. The talking sticks sounds ideal. Whoever holds it has the right to speak, but it does not turn out to be that simple.
Laundry day
Being at camp for two months means that there is a weekly laundry day. The few days leading to laundry day, there will be a shortage of every type of clothing article, and the morning routine will be extended to that you can dig through the smelly laundry bags to find your camper a clean pair of shorts. When the laundry comes back, no one will fold it, and it will sit by the door until the next laundry day.
The Campers
They are the reason you are there. They will bring you endless joy, and along with that, frustrations. They will wiggle their ways into your heart, and when it is time to say goodbye, well, all you can do is cry. Even the frustrating ones, those are the ones you will miss the most. Then, one day in October, you will open your mailbox and find a letter from your camper, thanking you, and it makes you appreciate them even more.
Hair braiding
You have one hour exactly and ten campers. Each camper wants two French braids. You will learn to brush, detangle, and braid each camper's head in that hour. Is that a skill I can put on my resume?
The friends
You will finish the summer with the most amazing friends. It is practically impossible to leave camp without having made at least one life-long friend. The friends that you make at camp will stand by you while you cry whether it be from laughter, sadness, homesickness, or a hard day with your campers. They will be the ones you turn to when you want validation or a wild adventure.
Being a camp counselor was hands down one of the most difficult jobs I have ever had, but it was the most rewarding. I would not trade in my 2k17 summer for anything.
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