I have been lucky enough to have been a camp counselor for the past few summers. This summer in particular has been my favorite. I am surrounded by kids every day that bring so much joy into my life and fellow staff that I feel like I should have met several years ago. They all make me laugh and smile everyday. I look forward to waking up early every morning because I know that I am about to be greeted by 50 little smiling faces that are ready to have the most amazing day of their life. They make me forget about every small situation that I may be facing and encourage me to soak up every moment. Children do not care what your home life may be like, what you were like in high school or where your life is headed. All that they care about is that you can be the best that you can be every day that you spend with them. What many people do not realize is that you can take away so much more from working with children than you can from working with adults. If we all lived our adult lives the same way that we did when we were children, then the world would, without a doubt, be a happier place.
Here are 14 lessons that I learned from being a camp counselor, that you should never forget as an adult.
1. Sharing is caring.
When you work at a camp with young children, you see how important it is to share. As adults, we sometimes forget that people will want to be around us more when we are willing to share.
2. It is OK to be silly.
When you are an adult, you feel like you need to be serious all of the time. Obviously, you cannot be silly all of the time when you are with children, but they will like you a whole lot better if you loosen up.
3. Smile all of the time.
Children love to smile! Smiling puts them in a good mood and you can feel how happy they are. When you are in the adult world, do not forget to smile. It is the one thing that is always guaranteed to make you feel better.
4. Coloring is the best.
Children love when you color with them or draw them a picture. If you are ever stressed as an adult, remember how happy coloring made you as a kid and take a moment to create a picture! It is guaranteed to make yourself feel better.
5. Don't hold a grudge.
Thankfully, children do not have a very long memory when they are young. If something minor happens, odds are that they will not remember it later that day. Adults tend to forget this.
6. Not every friend will be your best friend.
Children think that every friend will be their best friend. Adults can sometimes think this too. We want every quality friend to stay in our lives forever, but that is not always the case. You will have friends that will come and friends that will go, the best friends will be there through it all.
7. If you make a good friend, cherish that.
Summer camp provides children with the opportunity to create new friendships. I am lucky to have become friends with the staff that I work with and I try to tell them every day how much I appreciate working with them. Don't let good friendships pass you by and always make sure to let people know how much you value them.
8. It is never too late to say sorry.
"Sorry" is a very hard word for children to grasp. They think that they are in trouble if they have to say it. Not adults want to say "sorry". We have trouble admitting when we are wrong, just like when we were kids. It is never too late to apologize to someone.
9. Not all of us can win.
One of the hardest lessons to teach a child is that not everyone is a winner. They will pitch a fit if they do not win, but in the end, you are helping them. You are teaching them that hard work pays off in the end and that you are never going to be the best at everything. Adults hate it when they loose, but we need to remember that we are not all perfect.
10. Life is not fair.
Life is not fair. Someone will always be ahead of you. We have to keep telling children and adults that. We are going to have awful stuff happen to us during our lives, but we need to remember that in the end, it does get better.
11. Laugh at yourself.
My campers always get me to laugh at myself. I am a weirdo and I mess up all of the time. They taught me to laugh at myself and then move on. When you screw up as an adult, don't forget to laugh at yourself and see the craziness in the situation. You'll definitely feel better.
12. Cherish every moment.
My campers get me to live every day to the fullest, to laugh all day and they put the biggest smile on my face. They do not let me worry and always make sure my job is fun. Don't forget to live in the moment as an adult. Don't let life pass you by.
13. Don't do "work".
Children do not like doing things they see as work. They like doing the stuff they enjoy. As an adult we should never be going to "work", but make sure that we are doing stuff that we are passionate about.
14. Having "big" dreams is OK.
Children have the biggest dreams when they are little. They feel like they can take on the world. After years of negatives and rejection, we lose that sense of courage. It is important to know that your dreams that you had as a child will happen if you are willing to put in the work. We should never lose that determined spirit.
We are not perfect when we are adults and we are certainly not perfect as children. We can always learn as adults from children, just like children learn from us. When we put ourselves in the shoes of someone younger than us, that is when we can learn the most about our own lives. So be silly, have big dreams and don't forget to color a lot. Never lose sight of the child inside of you.
