Shoutout to all of those kids out there who dedicate part of their summer to be a summer camp counselor. This was my first summer being able to complete the great duties of a camp counselor. This summer was by far one of the greatest summers I have ever had.

You go into camp thinking that you are here for several weeks, and you count down the days until you can go home. You come out of camp wishing that it would have never ended.

For all those campers out there. Us camp counselors may not seem all that great to you because of the rules we have to enforce, or because we make you get up before the sun is out, but I promise we are there to make your time at camp just as great as ours.

We love what we do. We go to camp to share our passion for whatever it may be. We want our campers to love the game, sport, or activity just as much as we do.

To all of those counselors out there: keep doing what you are doing. You may not realize it, but what you are doing at camp may change someones life. That week that your campers get to spend with you may be the best vacation because of you. Do not let one bad situation, or a rainy day discourage you and what you are doing.

All of the stress, and countless nights without sleep will never add up to the reward we get of just being able to say "I was a summer camp counselor."

I learned this summer thanks to my fabulous camp director that it is the little things that make summer camp the best that it could be. The campers do not always realize that something has gone wrong because those little things are still running the way they should be.

The campers look up to us as counselors, and the most important thing for us to do is put that smile on our face every day for our campers. Everything during summer camp is for the campers. I cannot count the number of times I heard this summer "How do I become a counselor?" To me, that meant that I was doing my job. Not only were these campers enjoying their time as a camper, but they wanted to know how they could come back to work for the camp. That is a huge reward in a counselors eyes.

So when camp ends, we all have our sad faces on. No one wants to leave the new friends they have made, campers or counselors. It is a tough time. So to replace the sadness you create a countdown for next years camp.

Remember counselors, put that smile on everyday. You may be having a rough time out there, but you are making a campers day by just being there.

Nothing beats the feeling of a camper saying that they have had the best week of their summer.

To the camp counselors I worked with this summer, our countdown is approximately 329 days.