Summer comes and goes every year. Some loathe the heat while others have found blissful serenity in what summertime weather has to offer. Three months out of the year camps are in full swing--but are not able operational without the staff.
I went to camp when I was in 3rd grade all the way up until I finished 10th grade. I loved it so much I became a camp counselor at the same camp. I am now on my third summer working there and I have grown to develop a personality based off of the qualities in being a camp counselor.
The camp I went to is called Good Earth Village. We are primarily based around connecting nature and spirituality while also showing appreciation of Earth. In any camp counselors life there are certain things you identify with that symbolize the time you spent sculpting young minds while also growing and developing yourself into a unique individual. You know you are a camp counselor when...
Camp smell is a certain smell that can never be recreated![]()
From cooking out, to making fires, to playing games all day, to going in the creek, to sweating through the humid heat--you are never clean. You try to shower throughout the week but sometimes you think "What is the point? I am just going to get dirty again doing this all again later?"
This is the exact moment when the notorious "camp smell" emerges from the depths and you can never get rid of it until you start normal life again during the school year--taking normal showers, not wearing the same clothes 3 days in a row and when you are not waiting for 10 other campers to shower first where they use up all the warm water causing you to take a quick rinse shower.
Alone time is good for keeping sane
I used to think I was able to just keep going and going without taking time for myself. Man did I crash hard at the end of the week. YOU NEED that time to recollect yourself--even when you think you are fine--take that "prep time" and just go for a walk or journal. Just do something away from people and your mind and body will greatly appreciate it at the end of the week.
Camp is just like living in the dorms.
You get a place to stay and food to eat but it is up to you what you do with your time. Sure those things get deducted out of your pay but you know the lessons you teach those children will be forever remembered and that is more than any money could ever suffice for.
You will never have as much energy to go to work as you do at camp.
Waking up and then realizing you have to wake up 10 other tiny humans you get pepped up really fast. The saying "fake it until you make it" plays a roll into EVERYTHING you do. You sure as heck may not like any of the games but you are going to pretend you do to assure the campers see how much fun you are having and then feed off of that energy.
Sleep is more important than showering.![]()
Adding to the camp smell is the list of priorities. Last night you just stayed up with a homesick camper until midnight to have to wake up to a sick camper at 3 am. You have an hour break. How do you spend it? Sleeping of course!
Conflict Management is a thing that you can do.
You ever look back at something and think "Wow! Did I really just confront that? That was not as bad as it looked" You have grown to handle a conflict rather than just sitting back and watching it happen. Having a cabin full of campers, one conflict of who gets top bunk will forever change how you handle conflict for the rest of your life.
You find yourself scolding others for not following rules (especially the ones from camp).
Every new week of camp you ALWAYS go over the same exact rules: 1) No climbing trees. 2) No running on gravel. 3)Always have a buddy. etc. Why are there these rules? Because you can get hurt--or at least that is what you tell the campers.
Back in real life, you see a child running on gravel and you cringe a little bit because you remember when fellow counselors were demonstrating the rules and fake fell on the ground and THEY GOT HURT! Then you have to hold yourself back because: 1) That is not your child or camper and 2) This is the real world.
Then you realize....you are not around campers--therefore you do not have to follow the camp rules. LET THE RACE BEGIN!
Are my feet tan or are they just dirty?
You pay $100 to have the coolest tan lines all summer. But the only problem is that you do not know if your feet are actually tan or just dirty. It is an ongoing struggle that comes with working at camp. What you did not expect is the competition that blossoms from such a simple purchase as some shoes.
If you did not have the tan lines, did your summer even happen? You know those looks you get from relatives at family reunions though and they ask "Why on earth would you not wear sunscreen?" They just do not understand the concept of zig zag tan lines on your feet. YOU can prove you spent your whole summer outside in nature. It is almost like a metaphor: If you have the tan lines, you had a great summer.If you don't have the tan lines--well then I guess your summer was not as good.
Camp friends are the best friends.
Photo credit: Good Earth Village
You may not get to see them every summer after that but you will always share those summers on staff together.
You know you are a camp counselor when you can look at one of these and think back on the memories you have made working at a camp. You will always have these memories (maybe the tan lines too)--being a camp counselor has made you the person you are today. Through all the conflict management and lack of sleep you made it and you sure did make a difference in someones life!
If you want your life to forever be changed for the better, being a camp counselor is a step in the right direction.
"Be the change you want to see in the world" and being a camp counselor does just that, one camper at a time.
