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12 things I learned as a camp counselor.

 
All rights to the photo go to thepowerofcamp.com

Disclaimer: This is in no way an exhaustive list of the things I've learned as a counselor at Grace Adventures; it's just the first twelve things that came to mind.

  1. You can always choose to have a good day or a bad day. It's completely up to you, and you can't let others' pessimism get you down; in fact, part of choosing a good day for yourself is creating an environment of positivity to help your team make the same choice.

 2. You can't, however, choose anybody's attitude but your own. This was a difficult truth for me to learn, but an oh-so-very necessary one.

 3. Rainy days can be great. Of course, this is an attitude to be chosen as well, but some of my best memories of camp are the dance parties and crazy skits that happen when we can't be anywhere but inside. Also, when it's a super hot summer and you live in a dust bowl, standing out in the middle of a thunderstorm is a wonderful feeling.

 4. There are all sorts of reasons to thank God for the hard things. Some days it just seems like nothing is going to go right, and you just have to know that those are the days that are going to shape you as a person the best.

 5. Outdoor Fun is the name of the game. What other place are you employed to give kids the gift of fun and games outside, all day, every day? Seriously. Horseback riding, lake swimming, team building, slip-and-sliding, rock climbing, skit-creating, s'more eating? It's great!

 6. Growing is my favorite thing. I used to hate anywhere outside my comfort zone. And I mean hate. But when I learned that the "zone" just outside comfort was "learning and growing," I realized that that was where I wanted to be. It doesn't mean that I don't fear moving out of comfortability- that fear doesn't go away- it just means that I can see past the fear to the growing.

 7. Camp gives kids the gift of liberating freedom. That sounds lofty, I guess, but when a child comes to camp- without their family, without the influences of their friend group, without TV and video games- you are getting pure kid. Just him or her. That is scary for them- no one is going to make choices for them, and no one knows them or their past. The freedom is terrifying at first, but the transformation from scared to free is one of the greatest things you see as a counselor.

 8. Middle-school girls are hilarious. Okay, so my fellow camp staff can attest to the fact that in reality, middle school, boy-crazy girls can get on my nerves really quickly. But they are also the funniest people to watch, and some of the most rewarding girls to talk to. I love their excitement about life, and I love being able to help them see the bigger picture.

 9. Ah-ha! moments are amazing. That moment when a camper suddenly understands a passage in the Bible, or when a high school student realizes that leadership is more than giving orders. When a fellow counselor gets to see a homesick camper overcome her many fears of being away from family, or when your team finally realizes they're a team. Those are the moments you work at camp for.

10. Being the primary caregiver to 10 kids is crazy. Crazy cool, crazy responsibility, crazy fun, and basically just crazy. I guarantee that one day during the summer you will wake up and think to yourself, "I don't know how this is possible, but I just successfully got myself and ten kids through a full week of camp." And you'll feel pretty good about yourself.

 11. Sleep-walkers are terrifying and also very funny. Especially when they knock over a fan and you think the rapture has come, and they tell you they have to go to the bathroom. In a sleep-induced fog, you tell them to grab a buddy. They say, "I can't!" and proceed to crouch in the middle of the cabin floor doing the potty dance. And as you slowly become more alert, you realize that either you were sleeping in the wrong cabin, or this sleep-walking child (who you now realize isn't even from your cabin) thinks your cabin is the bathroom. How in the world does that happen, anyway?


12. Great work ethic and serious commitment. It's hard to explain to people who haven't experienced working at camp what being on the job 24 hours a day, six days a week is like. I could put a whole bunch of adjectives here, but put simply, it is amazing and amazingly hard. It is the most rewarding job I've had so far, and I am about to work my third summer. So that's the highest recommendation I can give for spending a summer working at camp.





Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 28, 2014 at 5:16 PM

    Just sayin' that you made my day! It is really wonderful to know that you are learning so much because you WANT to. I'm so proud of you...you are pouring what you have learned into the lives of those precious kids whose parents have entrusted them to you. You are FABULOUS!! And God and I (and a bunch of others!) love you to the moon and back! Your old granny feeling very blessed to be able to follow a bit of your journey.

    ReplyDelete

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