If you are looking for a summer job, take my advice and work at a summer camp. I started going to Camp Hollymont for Girls when I was going into 6th grade. Now, nine summers later, I am a counselor at the same camp that brought me life-long friends, a relationship with Jesus Christ, and some of the best memories I could ask for. So, if you have no idea what to do with your summer, come to camp. You won't regret it.. and if you need more convincing, here are the top five reasons:

1. You grow in your faith.

Camp is the place that I first understood what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus and is the place that nourishes me and my relationship with Christ. It's impossible to not feel his presence all around you. You are pushed in your faith by your coworkers, bosses, and even your campers. You learn more about Jesus in the faces of the little girls who look up to you than you can at any church on Sunday. You learn more about grace in the craziness of being in charge of ten young girls than you can learn in any sermon. Most importantly, you finally understand what it means to love unconditionally because there is no relationship on earth similar to that of the relationships you form at camp.

2. You grow up.

When I decided to go back to camp to be a counselor, I assumed it would be just like babysitting but for a longer period. Boy, I was so wrong. There is something more to being a camp counselor than just babysitting. You aren't there until their parents come home, you are their parents for however long they are there for. You are the person they come to when they have a bad dream, when they are homesick, when they get a cool package in the mail, when they have questions. You become more than just a babysitter and with that, you grow up. You start to understand what it means to be in charge of not just yourself. You start to understand how to love someone who is driving you crazy. You learn how to take care of someone.

3. You learn to laugh.

I am so serious. Laughing at camp is totally different than laughing in the real world. At camp, you laugh when things are funny, but you also laugh when you are exhausted and another bad thing happened and all you want to do is cry. But you can't cry, so you just laugh. You laugh when you have nothing else to do. You laugh when you just look at your best friend because just looking at her reminds you of something funny. You don't stop laughing. You learn to laugh at times when all you really want to do is cry.

4. You learn to be present.

You are in the mountains of North Carolina during the summertime. You don't have your phone or any distractions. All you have are your friends and your campers. At camp, you learn to listen and be present. You learn to sit in a room for hours after your campers have gone to bed and just listen to your coworkers. You listen to the good, the bad, and the ugly. You learn that sometimes people don't need fixing, they just need an ear to listen to them. You learn to listen to your campers. You learn to listen to what they tell you, but you also become aware of what they don't tell you. You embrace every moment and throw yourself 100% into everything because there are no distractions to take you away from the moment.

5. You learn to love.

You learn to love your coworkers unconditionally and most importantly, you learn to love your campers. You learn to love them when they are driving you crazy. You learn to love them when they are in your room asking you a thousand questions about your life, their life, Jesus...basically everything they can possibly question. You learn to love them when you are so exhausted. You learn to love yourself. You learn to love the people around you.

Camp is the best place on earth. Hands down.