Every summer since I can remember has consisted of popsicles, sunburns, and lots of chlorine. While my parents worked during the day, my younger brother and I went to day camp for the duration of the summer. Each day we would play team games, color, go to the pool and build the occasional volcano. A lot of my childhood memories were made at that camp, and luckily many more memories are being made at that same camp, only from the counselor point of view. If you ever get the chance to work at a summer camp, do it, and here's why.
1. Each and every child that walks through that door has something to contribute to camp that day.
Yes, even the child that cries every time someone makes a weird face at them or the one who never speaks unless to a counselor. I love each and every one of those kids and would give up my life to make sure they were happy and safe.
2. You get to watch them grow and mature.
When the first full day of camp rolls around, all the campers walk in with their parents terrified and clinging onto their arms for dear life. By the end of the summer, they walk right in without even saying bye to their parents.
3. I guarantee you will never go a day without laughing.
Camp can be stressful, especially in an authoritative position, but sometimes you need to let loose and crack up when all the kids jump off the high dive and "Dab" mid air.
4. Your coworkers are will be your best friends.
Your coworkers are the people you turn to when "Johnny" is getting on your last nerve. They are also the people you get the kids to play pranks on.
5. You learn to always go with the flow.
What happens when it's raining cats and dogs while you're supposed to be at the pool? You pull an art craft out of mid air and wrangle 35 kids indoors when all they want to do is run.
6. Buying a Fox40 whistle will be the best investment you'll ever make.
Instead of losing your voice four times through the summer, blow that whistle and you get dead silence. Every. Time.
7. You get endless hugs and compliments.
When you roll out of bed at six in the morning and throw on some clothes, the kids still love you. When you put on mascara for the first time in a month, the girls tell you you're pretty and the boys think it's freaky that your eyelashes are actually that long.
8. I get paid to be a kid.
Yes, I have HUGE responsibilities in planning everyday activities for 35 plus kids, but at the end of the day, I get to swim like a mermaid again and make super hero masks because it's my job.
9. You will never be paid enough to deal with the things you deal with.
As a camp counselor you deal with anything from a hang nail to exploding sunscreen bottles to code browns... yes. That means finding poop not in the toilet, but on the wall or in a corner.. Fun right?!
10. After a long, long summer, you will look back and get emotional thinking about how quickly it went by.
Some of those kiddos you will never see again, so on the last day be sure to hug each and every one of them a little longer and a little tighter. By the end of the summer, I always find I am very protective of "my kids." Even the kids you had to get on every single day, multiple times a day, you will miss.
Being a summer camp counselor was one of the best decisions I have ever made. The amount of kids that I had an influence on, had an even bigger influence on me. I will forever love being a summer camp counselor, and if you ever get the opportunity to work at a summer camp, trust me, do not pass it up.
