The Camp Effect | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

The Camp Effect

The hardest job you’ll ever love…because we certainly don’t do it for the money.

27
The Camp Effect
Ana Tantaris

Kids go to summer camp for at least one of three reasons. 1) Their parents need to get them out of the house so that they can live their lives for a few hours. 2) Kids need to get out of the house and live their lives for a few hours. 3) They’ve found their real life home away from home and summer is incomplete without it.

For me, it was usually a combination of the first two, and it wasn’t until junior high that I truly identified my camp home.

Like anything, with camp, you only get out what you put into it. So maybe I hadn’t really appreciated summer camp for everything it is until I started working as CIT. Or maybe I just hadn’t found it yet––whatever it is. Either way, I have been able to do a lot of soul searching during my summers. And I have learned way more from camp than I have at any other job (or arguably, in any classroom).

In order to work at a summer camp a person has to be crazy enough to get up at the crack of dawn five days a week, spend their entire day in the heat, with human beings that are way younger them, trying to ensure that all parties involved have the best day of their lives.

Camp is fun because we make it fun. That may mean that we make up a hybrid game of Capture the Flag with water balloons and 17 different rules that don’t make any sense at all; or that we have a “mystery art project” that has no order and all of the art supplies when we don’t have enough time to plan for the day. Regardless of the circumstances, everyone is going to enjoy themselves (staff included) so long as they are just as excited about it as they want everyone else to be.

Part of what makes it such a great learning experience is that camp is the epitome of organized chaos. You always have to plan for something to go wrong, and it requires some serious ability to think on your feet. You can’t get too attached to your plans or you’ll never be able to get anything done. So much of camp is learning to accept things as they come and roll with the punches. It really makes you stronger, more flexible, and much more engaged in what is happening in front of you rather than what’s happening in your head.

The kinds of relationships that you develop at camp are unlike any other. This goes for the campers as well as the staff. Camp is supposed to be the place where you can be 100% unapologetically yourself, and not get judged for it. You’re supposed to get out of your comfort zone and try new things, otherwise you’re not growing or really experiencing camp for all that it is intended to be. Camp friends are forever friends because they play a direct part in that growth, whether we think about it at the time or not.

Not only do we get close because we are forced to get out or our shell and reveal our true selves to our co-counselors, but also we are forced to work together as a team to make it all come together. This is humbling and it allows us to learn about our other teammates. We work best when we know how everyone around us works; this goes for our campers too.

Camp requires you to give 100% of yourself to it, for its greater purpose. Maybe you work at camp because you miss being a camper yourself, or maybe it’s because you want to be a part of what makes camp so special to a new generation of kiddos making your home their home. Whatever the reason, you get to be a part of something that is way bigger than yourself and it creates a new sense of purpose that you may not experience in your real life.

I have spent more than a decade of my life at the same day camp. Because of this, I have been able to figure out who I am and be confident with that. Hopefully, I’ve been able to help others be confident with who they are as well. That’s really what camp is all about. Besides the experience and the and the mental and emotional growth, it’s so important that people leave their camp feeling more confident in who they are than when they came into it.

I’m really very fortunate to have worked with some of the most remarkable people over the last few years (especially this summer) who, whether they knew it or not, have directly impacted my life in the most positive of ways and have helped me be as close to the best version of myself as I can be.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
an image of taylor swift standing center stage surrounded by her backup dancers in elegant peacock esque outfits with a backdrop of clouds and a box rising above the stage the image captures the vibrant aesthetics and energy of her performance during the lover era of her eras tour
StableDiffusion

A three-and-a-half-hour runtime. Nine Eras. Eleven outfit changes. Three surprise songs. Zero breaks. One unforgettable evening. In the past century, no other performer has put on an electric performance quite like Taylor Swift, surpassing her fans ‘wildest dreams’. It is the reason supporters keep coming back to her shows each year. Days later, I’m still in awe of the spectacle ‘Miss Americana’ puts on every few days in a new city. And, like one of Taylor’s exes, has me smiling as I reminisce about the memories of the night we spent together.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Every Girl Needs To Listen To 'She Used To Be Mine' By Sara Bareilles

These powerful lyrics remind us how much good is inside each of us and that sometimes we are too blinded by our imperfections to see the other side of the coin, to see all of that good.

82935
Every Girl Needs To Listen To 'She Used To Be Mine' By Sara Bareilles

The song was sent to me late in the middle of the night. I was still awake enough to plug in my headphones and listen to it immediately. I always did this when my best friend sent me songs, never wasting a moment. She had sent a message with this one too, telling me it reminded her so much of both of us and what we have each been through in the past couple of months.

Keep Reading...Show less
Zodiac wheel with signs and symbols surrounding a central sun against a starry sky.

What's your sign? It's one of the first questions some of us are asked when approached by someone in a bar, at a party or even when having lunch with some of our friends. Astrology, for centuries, has been one of the largest phenomenons out there. There's a reason why many magazines and newspapers have a horoscope page, and there's also a reason why almost every bookstore or library has a section dedicated completely to astrology. Many of us could just be curious about why some of us act differently than others and whom we will get along with best, and others may just want to see if their sign does, in fact, match their personality.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

20 Song Lyrics To Put A Spring Into Your Instagram Captions

"On an island in the sun, We'll be playing and having fun"

9868
Person in front of neon musical instruments; glowing red and white lights.
Photo by Spencer Imbrock on Unsplash

Whenever I post a picture to Instagram, it takes me so long to come up with a caption. I want to be funny, clever, cute and direct all at the same time. It can be frustrating! So I just look for some online. I really like to find a song lyric that goes with my picture, I just feel like it gives the picture a certain vibe.

Here's a list of song lyrics that can go with any picture you want to post!

Keep Reading...Show less
Chalk drawing of scales weighing "good" and "bad" on a blackboard.
WP content

Being a good person does not depend on your religion or status in life, your race or skin color, political views or culture. It depends on how good you treat others.

We are all born to do something great. Whether that be to grow up and become a doctor and save the lives of thousands of people, run a marathon, win the Noble Peace Prize, or be the greatest mother or father for your own future children one day. Regardless, we are all born with a purpose. But in between birth and death lies a path that life paves for us; a path that we must fill with something that gives our lives meaning.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments