Dear Campers,

Today was my last day working at camp and it is very hard to believe that we've spent the last eleven weeks of our lives together. It feels like I met you all an eternity ago, I hardly remember this summer before you all came into my life.

As a first-time camp counselor, I didn’t know what to expect from this summer, but I knew that I needed a part-time job to make money for college in the fall. The returning counselors gave me mixed reviews of the job; some said that it was a great way to spend the summer and others were less enthusiastic. As the weeks progressed, my part-time camp job become much more than that, it became a daily routine that I began to enjoy.

I won’t miss working long days outside in the summer heat, but I will miss all of you. I’ll miss the water balloon fights and other games that lasted long into the afternoons. The way that a simple game of hot potato with a wet sponge kept you entertained is amazing. I’ll miss riding down the waterslide into a cold pool on a hot day and diving down for your toys in the deep end. I won't miss getting pushed into the pool in my entire camp uniform (including socks and shoes), but I will miss all of you.

I won't miss the bug bites and poison ivy but I will miss all of you. I'll miss the way that you adventured through the nature trails and built your own fishing rods to use in the creek. I'll miss the excitement on your faces when you built tree forts and anxiously checked to see if they were still standing the next day. I won't miss you waving worms in my face, but I will miss all of you.

My boss once told me that we are supposed to give you the best summer of your lives and that camp is something that you will remember forever. Until I met each of you this summer, I didn’t realize how right she was, the work that we do as counselors makes a difference. Seeing you conquer your fears, make new friends and learn new things about yourselves is far more rewarding than I ever realized that it would be.

Today, when I said my final goodbye to all of you, I was tackled by 20 campers and told that I was "the best camp counselor ever," and although that is far from the truth I'm happy to know that you all appreciated me as much as I appreciated my time with all of you. Thank you all for an awesome summer, it has certainly been one that I will always remember.

Sincerely,

Your Camp Counselor