Growing up I never went to summer camp. My summers were spent at home with my sisters and friends. While I loved my summers growing up, I was always a little jealous of friends that got to go to summer camp because when we returned to school in the fall, they always had such cool stories. This past summer I got to be a camp counselor for the first time and it was the best experience that I never expected to have. I'm thoroughly convinced that being a camp counselor is one of the best jobs you can have.

1. You get to spend your summers outside. I spent most of my time at camp outside at the playground or in the field playing different games. We went swimming twice a week and went on multiple field trips that involves being outside. I got paid and still got my summer tan.

2. The field trips are amazing. Every week of camp we went on a different field trip. At first I was a little skeptical about having to spend so much time on a school bus with numerous children in the dead of summer, but that was a small trade off compared to the awesome places I got to go this summer: the zoo, pools with water parks, Sesame Place, nature centers, the Franklin Institute, and many more. I got paid to go to all these places for free.

3. The kids are incredible. The camp was for kids ranging in age from 1st to 8th grade so I got to meet kids of all different ages. It was interesting to get to interact with so many different kids and really get to know them over the summer. I honestly was sad to have to say goodbye to most of them, but it's exciting to look forward to seeing them next summer and see how much they have changed over the year.

4. I got to interact with kids in a way that I have never had the experience too. While there was a lot of structure to our daily schedule at camp, it was all based around play and fun. I was able to sit and talk to kids and really get to know them and the things they like and don't like. I was able to talk to them and listen to them without having to worry about if a principal was going to walk in or having to worry about fretting through a lesson, etc. I was able to connect with them on a much different level.

5. We went swimming twice a week. I literally got paid to go swimming. That speaks for itself.

All of that aside, the part of camp that really effected me the most was knowing that this is such a defining moment for the kids. I stood with a mom one morning during our talent show. Her daughter beautifully sang a song and when I turned to congratulate her mom, she was crying. She began to explain herself and expressed that she has never heard her daughter sing in public before. She said that that is what camp does for her daughter: it encourages her to be herself and provides her with a safe space to do so.

While my summer as spent with countless games of whiffle ball and days at the pool, lathering more sunscreen on children than I have probably ever used in my entire life, multiple games of cards and Life and so many freeze pops, this summer was also a defining moment for me. I found a true home at the place I work and am excited not only for this summer, but to start the school year there in a few days.

Let the countdown to summer 2017 begin.