This summer I decided to trade getting a "normal" summer job at a retail store or fast food restaurant for something much more stressful: counseling. Imagine packing all of the stress of the week before finals combined with actual finals week for up to eight continuous weeks. That is what being a camp counselor is like. Our job doesn't end when we go to bed, and I can't count the amount of times that I have been woken up in the middle of the night to handle kid problems. But, I wouldn't trade my job for anything, if you're a camp counselor, you understand too.
1. The Songs
Camp 101 is always having a new song in your back pocket to teach your kids before meal time, or walking to and from the art gym. You want songs about chartreuse buzzards? I got one. How about the days of the week? Yep, got that one too. Oh, you want to sing about blowing a marshmallow bubble? There's one for that too.
2. The Games
When songs don't cut it anymore, you have to turn to games. In my few weeks I have learned enough games to keep you entertained for a life time. We can play sitting games, active games, team-building games, and silent games. The relationship that a counselor has with songs is very similar to the one they have with games: essential.
3. The Staff
Don't let the fun that we have at camp fool you, being a counselor is hard work. As young adults, we have been trusted with the care and well-being of multiple children. Some parents have a hard time with one, and we can easily have nine or more. The staff that we work with quickly becomes our support system for everything small to big. Without them our, breakdowns would be far more frequent.
4. The Sayings
After this summer nothing a child may say could surprise me, and nothing I may have to say to a child will surprise me either. I have heard children make up livelihoods for blades of grass, and have told more children to remove branches from their noses than I can count.
5. The Tan Lines
I have a short line tan, a farmers tan, a swimsuit tan, a tank top tan, and a very attractive watch tan. Even though I tell my campers to apply sunscreen four times a day, the tan lines still occur, there is no escaping them.
6. Being a Girl
From check-in to check-out, you don't wear makeup, don't care what your hair is doing, and you have limited contact with a decent mirror. When the weekend comes around, it's actually nice to get out of bed, style your hair, and do your makeup. The thing we once hated to do now doesn't seem like so much of a chore.
7. Leadership
There is a certain sense of power that comes with being a counselor and having the ability to call the attention of 100+ kids by simply yelling "HEYYYYY LAAAAADIEEEEESSSSS" and them actually listening. I am not afraid to use my "big girl voice" to get things done even if I lost my voice three days ago.
8. The Skills
Thanks to my job, I can now break off huge branches from dead trees, collect tinder and kindling in order to start and build a fire. I can cook meat in a cast iron skillet, make the perfect s'more, and keep my kids safe around a fire. I have also learned how to tie several paracord knots, make twelve-strand friendship bracelets, lead kids safely through obstacle course, and ground-belay kids on rappel. Where else would I ever be able to have learned all of this than at summer camp?
9. "Your Kids"
I love my campers, even the ones that I can't wait to send home because they can be difficult at times. If you try to come after any of them, I am going to go full on momma-bear to protect them. We go through a lot together with bumps, bruises, conflicts, memories, camp fires, and meals together. They're not just a part of my job, I see them as "my kids" for a week.
