Summer Camp! What do you think of? Fun, Excitement, New Friends, Camping, Smores? All those things happen but summer camp is more than games and friends, especially when you are a Camp Counselor.
Camp is about knowing you made a difference in a child's life. Do you know how you tell? It's the last evening of the session, you have spent a few weeks with the kids, some amazingly cool while others were a bit more challenging. Then a camper who took the most energy comes up to you with tears in her eyes and says "You’ve made a difference in my life, I will remember you forever" and in the same breath asks "Are you coming back next summer? I want to be in your cabin." This is the moment when you know you changed a life and in some small way changed the world. It becomes clear all your effort was worth it. But what is surprising is you know your camper leave camp a better person and on your last day at camp you too will find that you have grown tremendously from the summer camp experience.
Here are the top reasons being a Camp Counselor is a summer job every student should try.
1. You are in a place where you and your campers grow to form the most unique and wonderful friendships you could ever have. You will want to stay in touch with your new friends long after camp is finished.- 2. There will be nights when you are awaken by a camper who needs to go to the bathroom, so you get and go outside, while looking up the stars it take your breath away and your camper feels honored that you pointed them out and to have spent that time with you
3. At some point you will realize our clothes, hair,dirt under our fingernails and smell are really not as important as we might think. What matters is who we are on the inside. This is a freeing experience that role models for the campers what is important in this world.
4. Camp is all about creativity, imagination and spontaneity. Your job will change every 15 minutes, from playing, to cleaning, dressing up like a super hero. Nothing beats the feeling of being a kid again and finding the simple joy of a pillow fight before going to bed.
5. The campers look up to you. They’ll mimic what you do, they will dress like you, they will believe everything you say. In short they think your the coolest ever and they want to be like you.
6. Tie Dye will be a staple of your wardrobe and you will keep trying to make the perfect one.
7. Many of your stories back home will start with “This one time, at camp…,” and most folks, except your camp friends wont get it.
8. Your happy to make time for an extra long hot shower. These are rare yet, most appreciated.
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9. You’ll will be outside everyday in nature. So sunscreen will be art of your ritual as well as bugspray. You will thank the creators of these 2 wonderful products almost daily.
probably get the best tan-lines. Farmers tan? Check. Shorts tan? Check. Headband tan? Check. Flip-flop tan? Check. It’s an inevitable truth, sadly. But the tan-line competitions are real
10. Your summer will be separated from the outside world and technology. Relationships will form face to face with face-time or face-book. Real faces & real people. This is a 21st century life skill.
11. you will appreciate your time off and away from camp but on the drive back you will be wondering how your kids are, whats been going on. The excitement will only increase as you get closer to camp and once you hit camp you will want to find your co-counselor to hear how everyone is.
12. Your coworkers become your best friends because you have spent "camp"together and they get it.
13. You quickly learn life’s most important lessons are easily solved by campers. Oh sure they sometimes need help finding the path but they always figure it out. They just need a freiend like you to guide rather than fix things.
14. Helping a camper gain confidence and face their fears builds a self-worth unlike any other. Cheering on a camper who is swimming for the first time or holding a camper who is affraid of a storm. although they will meet challanges, they will love camp as much as you.
15. Sadness is the last day of camp, your campers are gone, the work is over and their is only you and your co counselor in your cabin packing. It's then you get you see why camp is such a magical place.and how much camp and your campers have changed you.
16. You learn how important sleep is, you look forward to going to bed early and snuggling up for a long cool night or you cherish that 15 minute nap under the shade of a pine.
17. You make time to refocus on all the beauty nature can show you with out a screen.
18. Camp will forever have left it's mark on you and you will be a part of the fraternity of camp counselors who value the importance Summer Camp Counselors truly have on today's youth. You’ll never be the same.
