This summer I had the opportunity to work as a camp counselor for the City of Allen, which is about an hour outside of Dallas. It was challenging and very eye opening, and I learned a lot. Here are 10 things that I learned this summer:

• Children are probably the most forgiving people- There were so many times when I had to get out of my comfort zone and discipline a child this summer. It was not something that I wanted to do, especially to the ones that held a piece of my heart, but sometimes it was necessary. But I started to notice when I would prepare myself for them being mad at me the next day, I was usually the one that they would run up to and greet first at the beginning of the day. I even talked to one of my campers who told me that even though I constantly make her mad when I single her out for not being in line, I was still her favorite counselor. Obviously, that is a small ordeal and I had to deal with other things this summer, but it really stressed the lesson the lesson of life is too short to be angry at things that are out of your control.
• There is always something good that comes out of something bad- There were good and bad times this summer, but I came out with two really good friends that I think I will have for a long time. This was not the first time that I had the opportunity to be a camp counselor and my first summer, I didn’t bond with my coworkers like I did this past summer. I celebrated my 21st birthday with these people. I vented and shared some of my personal histories with these people. The summer struggle really helped us to grow together and grow as friends. I am typically not one to let people into my world so fast, but I think when you go through ups and downs with people you learn to appreciate the ones that help you through more and more.
• It is ok to enjoy being by yourself- This summer was the summer where I learned to be me. I learned that sometimes you have those “solo ride until I die” moments, and that’s perfectly ok. There are times when you don’t want to be bothered with other people’s issues and you want to focus on yourself. It wasn’t until a fellow camp counselor let me know that she has those moments too and she embraces them that I realized I will embrace my moments too.
• Focusing on yourself can lead to far more success- At the beginning of the summer, I can honestly say that I was focused more on making sure everyone else was ok before myself. It got to the point where it was stressing me out more than the people I was helping. I soon realized that the others weren’t learning how to do what they were supposed to be doing because I was doing it for them. And eventually, I nipped it all in the bud and started to focus on myself. Although I am a very caring person, I never want to feel that others are walking all over me and taking advantage. Now I am taking this attitude into the school year so that I can have the very best senior year that I can.
• No matter how much you exercise, you cannot eat Oreos every day and lose weight- I wanted to be skinny by the end of the summer! I really thought it was going to happen because I was taking more that 10,000 steps a day. But the camp snacks are what got me. I was eating pudding, Oreos, munchies and so much more on the daily and I soon realized the “it’s all about what you eat” is really important to the weight loss journey. Now I have to force myself to work out like everyone else during the school year and eat healthily. Wish me luck.
• Summer is when I am most comfortable- I truly think it is because I am a summer baby that I feel most comfortable in the summer months. I usually walk out of each summer feeling so sure of myself and confident. Summer is my Cinderella fairytale months. And then I get thrust back into school and it all comes tumbling down. I start to question myself and stress myself out. It’s a mess and I hate the cycle. I just wish it was summer all the time.
• Drinking is not the answer- Don’t stress drink people. It doesn’t cure anything.
• Camp counselors are a big dysfunctional family- Even though we had times where we lacked communication, I still appreciate everyone and the jobs that they did this summer. Being a camp counselor is supposed to be one of the easiest jobs in the world. Literally, you get paid to play with children. But we somehow found a way to make things more difficult than it needed to be. With all that being said, I was still sad on the last day of work. I saw some of those people literally every day this summer, so changing it up was a little sad. Although we didn’t always like each other, I still found a way to appreciate each and every one of my fellow camp counselors.
• I am a child at heart- A 12-year-old called me childish this summer. He said it is because I am always laughing and joking around. My co-workers even made fun of me a lot because I was able to have deep conversations with 12-year-olds. But in all honesty, I think it is a talent to be able to have in-depth conversations with young people. It is so entertaining and eye opening and it made me realize that I have a lot in common with them. I just really love to have a good time and not take things too seriously all the time. It’s good for the soul.
• I am too blessed to be stressed- Everyone is too blessed to be stressed. Remember that, and pray. Things will always work out. I loved this summer and I think I learned a lot.

With all that being said, I really did enjoy my summer, and I am sad that it over. It feels like it was my last summer to be a kid (I am officially a senior). It was a rollercoaster experience. There were times when I wanted to pull my hair out and times when I wanted to hug all the kids just for making my day brighter. I am going to miss every child that I encountered this summer because they truly changed my life for the better.