Before I begin, I already know what you're thinking: Aren't we in college now? It's time to move on from yet another two sweaty months at camp and start thinking about getting a “real" job or internship for the summer. Well, I used to think exactly like that. Last summer, I vowed I was not going to return to my camp. I was going to get a fabulous internship in the city and become an adult, ready to leave my immature days as a boys' camp counselor behind. I scoffed at the counselors that were older. I thought that they didn't take their lives and careers seriously since they still worked at camp. However, when I started my freshman year, my perspective completely changed.
Starting college was incredibly scary. I moved away from home and was living on my own for the first time. I went from going to school with my best friends for the past fourteen years to rarely seeing them throughout the year. With all the changes that occurred over the past year, my friends and I knew we needed familiarity back in our lives. So we decided to reunite at camp for one last summer. But like all camp counselors know, there are other great reasons that pull you back to camp time and time again.
Your campers become your children.
Whether in good or bad times (for the most part it's bad), your campers are basically your kids. Meaning that starting as young as sixteen, you are a surrogate parent to these children. It sounds scary, but really, it's so much fun. Even though your campers bother you to no end, you love them all the same. Well, most of them. The connections you make with them will stay with you forever, and you will grow so much from working with them.
The food.
Okay, this may sound disgusting, but seriously, everyone loves camp lunches! Once you make sure all of your kids are full on the mac 'n' cheese, you go and take a whole bowl for yourself and your co-counselors. It's just how it is. There's also one summer where a whole age group of counselors has to be servers. This just bonds you and your friends even closer as you are basically everyone's slaves. Who doesn't love child labor?
You get to be outside for the whole summer.
Instead of being cooped up in an office, you're outside being active. Whether it's playing with your campers, walking from activity to activity, or just sitting by the pool watching your kids swim, you are always outside soaking in the summer sun. You'll have plenty of time later in life to spend in an office building, so why start now?
You are in charge.
The coolest thing about being a counselor is that you make the rules. You are in charge of a group of kids that have to listen to you. Or are supposed to. Like I said, it's like you are the surrogate parent. It's really validating to be able to organize schedules and plan activities and trips for the campers. When you see their smiling faces, you know it was a job well done.
You are taken seriously.
Parents put their trust in you to take care of their children. That is a huge responsibility and not something to take lightly. Yes, you have leaders to help you if you are in a tough situation, but usually you run the show. You should feel proud every day of getting your kids home safe and, hopefully, happy. It's tough being a counselor and you learn more than you would think, especially about life skills. I'm sure you have more responsibility than taking phone calls at an office job all summer.
Your counselors in your age group become family.
You all meet on the first day of staff week. You check out the new counselors in training and pray that you get co-counselors that will know what they're doing. As the summer goes on, you and the counselors in your age group bond over the stories you share about your kids and planning fun days and trips for the campers, as well as staff outings. You share funny stories of dumb things your kids did, and help each other out when you see a counselor in need. Your age group is your family. You're proud to wear your age group t-shirt because, duh, you guys rock.
And lastly, you get to hang out with your best friends.
What is a better way to spend two months of your life than with your closest friends? I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing.
I know that as college freshmen, a lot of us were worried about getting a head start on internships and jobs in career fields. But, this really is the last summer where we can still be kids, and return to our home away from home at our respective camps. So if you are like me and heading to camp next month, have the best time! And for any incoming freshmen, please decide carefully as to what you want to do next summer. You're only a kid once.
