After the last camper leaves the premise, after the final thank you has been given, after the final hug from you fellow counselor, it is time to reenter life outside of camp. The past eight or nine weeks have been filled with crying children, smiling children, flying stones, sticks, balls and high fives. There is nothing quite like the experience of life and kids from the unique perspective of a camp counselor. And after the summer is over, how can we possibly go back to school completely unchanged?
Working at a camp with kids is a special experience in itself, because you are a friend and an authority figure to the campers, giving you a look into their lives that parents and teachers just can not reach. This creates a connection unlike anything I've ever seen between a teenager or very young adult and their campers.
The job, while so incredibly rewarding, can be frustrating and exhausting at times as well. Eight or more hours a day outside in the sun on high alert and overflowing enthusiasm could lead to quick burnout on it's own, but adding kids screaming at you, throwing rocks and sand at you and having to literally pull a kid out of the pond (all in the same day, I might add) could make the job frustrating. But then the same kid will say something ridiculous and make you laugh. Suddenly, you remember why you have the best job in the world.
But where do camp counselors go at the end of the summer? Do they curl up in the camp office for a few months, or run into the forest and disappear there until the kids come back? Surprisingly, considering all the hours we spend at these camps, we do not actually live there. Life after camp, or rather, life around camp, exists for these kids watching younger kids. Yet with all the training received, how could one simply go back without a perspective change.
I am here to say that camp "counselor mode" is a very real, very common occurrence in the off-season. That split second of panic when you see a child by themselves, or the overwhelming need to interact with kids you see bored while waiting in line at the grocery store. While the constant camp counselor persona will drop away eventually, I have noticed that it pops up almost immediately if a child is nearby.
The most incredible summers of my life have been spent as a camp counselor. Being able to have an impact on kids lives, while being outside and moving around doing cool activities is priceless. The most amazing thing is when kids come up to you asking if they can have you again as a counselor, or if you will be back next summer. It is incredibly comforting to say yes, even if that answer will one day change and it will be time to say good-bye to the best job ever. But maybe that is what makes it so amazing, the temporary state of it making you revel in each moment of it.
