If your co-counselor was not your main source of sanity this summer, then I feel bad for you. If all goes right, the bond between co-counselors can form quickly and with great strength. Through literal blood, sweat, and tears, she becomes more than just your summer coworker. Spending every second of the day together for eight weeks means picking up on weird quirks, knowing what she is going to say before she says it, and laughing at each other’s stupidity along the way. If you’re lucky, your co will become a core figure in your life as she takes on these four roles.
1. Your Therapist
Her ears are always there to listen to your problems, regardless of if they relate to camp or not. The best part is that she is usually an unbiased source of advice who can offer you prime impartial guidance towards your tangled web of drama. No matter how busy her schedule is, she is always there to sort through your problems. She’ll tell you of similar stories from her past and let you know you’re not alone; she too has faced hard times so you cherish her understanding perspective.
2. Your Shoulder To Lean On
The sweltering heat and humidity can really take a toll on your ability to function as a normal human. Add in whining children, a pounding headache, and sleep deprivation and the day can seem virtually impossible to combat. Some days, your legs move and your body lags behind. It is on these days, that you need her to lean on and pick up your slack the most. It’s like an unspoken language you communicate in, one look and she knows to dust off her shoulder for you to rest your sweaty head on.
3. Your Mother
Although you are both authority figures in the eyes of your campers, you too are a child yourself. In the absence of your real parents, your co-counselor takes on the role of your mother, making sure you’re properly hydrated and well fed throughout the day. She cares for your well-being as much as her own and makes you an honorary camper that she looks after on days that you’re incapable of ‘adulting.’
4. Your Best Friend
Most importantly, your co-counselor becomes your best friend. She is the one you share the most laughter with, the one you miss as soon as you separate, and the one you text first when anything happens in your life—significant or not. Tears may escape your eyes as you say your final goodbyes to campers, but there is nothing like that final hug with her that hauls the tears out of you in an ugly convulsion. The thought of going through your days without her beside you is unimaginable by the end of the summer. No worries, she is always a phone call, a text, or a snapchat away throughout the endless winter months.
