Dear Fellow Camp Counselors,

This week marks the first full week of camp here in Rochester, and also my official second year as a counselor. As I finished my training and the three days of sampler week, it made me think of all the other counselors at, not only my camp, but all the camps everywhere.

As many of you probably know, or soon to know, we have one of the hardest jobs out there. From running around chasing kids all day, to being in 90° weather with no cloud cover, we truly do have a fun, but difficult job. Most people think we get paid to be a kid all day, and to be honest, they are not wrong. We get to play gaga, swim, go zip lining, and go on field trips, but that is not all that we do. We are the caretakers of up to thirty parent's pride and joys at a time. These kids can range from kindergartners to 10th graders and each group comes with their own quirks.

With all of this, we keep coming back year after year. We accept the position of role model no matter how hard it can be. Every move we make is analyzed for fairness and then gets copied over again until it's looking us straight in the face. Sometimes the action can be as small as how you say a word or as large as how you handle a difficult situation with another camper. In the moment, we do not really see our impact, but a year later when a camper from the year before tells you that they still use your painting technique or your coping method, it touches your heart strings.

We accept the camp songs that we love and hate all at the same time, and making sure the oldest stand and participate. By week eight the songs get over sang, but we still perform them for a laugh. (Also just to set the record straight, no you cannot ride in my little red wagon.)

We accept the repeating schedules, the attitudes, the heat, the rain, and all the things that make it the camp that we grow to love.

But mostly we accept each other. Without our fellow counselors, we would go insane and have gray hairs after our first week. Being around kids for 40 hours or more a week can really put on social deprivation, but because of each other, we survive. We rely on each other more than we let on. We bounce off crazy new ideas for a game or activity and vent about the night before. Without each other, we would be lost and camp would crumble.

To the new staff that has not seen what summer camp is like, be ready, It is truly a roller-coaster. You will laugh and be angry and want to walk away. But keep going because the memories you take away from your days there are transformative. You being as high school or college student and quickly become a role model who actually has a purpose. No matter the child's background, family, race, gender, orientation, or personality we have a positive impact on them in some way. This job, these kids, these people will give you ten times what you give them.

In all, grab your sunscreen, and water because this summer is going to be a hot one but it will be the best summer yet. I just know it in my bones!

From Yours Truly,

A Fellow Counselor