I've been working with kids for as long as I can remember. I started out as a Counselor in Training at the summer camp I had been going to since I was six years old. Then, I moved up to volunteering and eventually landed a job there. Sometimes, during school breaks, I help out my friend’s mom at her daycare. At school, I babysit for family.

All of these things are incredibly exhausting. After about two hours of high-pitched screams, repeating yourself a million times and mediating arguments that don’t even make sense, you start questioning why you decided to put yourself through this, and it doesn't exactly get any easier after that, but it's incredibly worth it.

Working with kids has taught me so much about compassion, love, patience, and happiness. Whenever I work an eight-hour shift at the daycare or at my summer camp, I come home more tired than I've ever been, but with a huge smile on my face. I could have spent the day with friends like a normal college student does on break, but at the end of the day I know that I spent my day doing something I’m passionate about, and with kids that I love and (hopefully) love me back.

When a child is crying and the only thing that calms them down is your hug, or they shoot you a huge smile whenever they've accomplished the smallest of tasks and you tell them you're proud of them, or you come back to visit after a long time and they remember you and get so excited to see you- these are things that remind me that what I do is worth it.

Feeling like I've made even the smallest impact on the life of a child is the best feeling I've ever experienced. I still remember my counselors from my summer camp, because they made my childhood fun and they made my summer camp a home away from home. If I can do that for even one child I will feel like I have accomplished something.

So, if you ever get the chance, I encourage you to take the opportunity to work as a counselor, or babysit, or even just spend more time with your little cousins. They will remind you what it's like to have pure, unadulterated fun. They will remind you how to still be friends with someone even though they took something from you (even if it was your favorite toy). They will remind you how to dream big, and worry little. These reminders are things all of us could use when times get rough, and I couldn't think of a better teacher than a child.

I understand that a life in childcare isn’t for everyone, and that you may be thinking to yourself, “I could never do that, I hate kids,” but all I’m asking is for you to give it a chance. Every day is different with these kids, and you’re not going to like every kid, but when you make a connection with one child, something in you will be forever changed, and I promise you’ll be grateful for the experience.