Hello to all of my fellow camp counselors!
Now that summer has come to its inevitable end, we camp counselors have been thrown back into that mysterious place, known as the "real world". A place where singing songs about squirrels is not a normal way to start your day. A place where two different knee high socks, crazy hair, and a thrift shop vest outfit is not greeted with the response "you look awesome"! A place that cares about how you smell.
I have long tried to explain to my friends who are not counselors what the experience is like, sharing stories and even the occasional song, but so much is lost in translation. Why can't you get how funny my kids were, or how ridiculous the other counselor looked as a human sundae? Why don't you want to repeat when I say "this is a repeat song"? Why don't you get it?
I have comprised a list of things my friends don't understand about being a camp counselor. I hope you enjoy, laugh, and most of all, empathize. Lord knows they don't.
1. My job is hard. It is exhausting, challenging, and no two days are the same.
2. When you call me a "glorified babysitter", you set my insides on fire and I have to restrain myself from ripping your eyebrows out.
3. The things my campers say are downright hilarious, and you clearly just didn't get it.
4. No, I can't stop singing those songs. I've been singing them for three months straight, and they don't just get unstuck from my head.
5. It takes me time to adjust to being around adults again, sorry.
6. The other staff I worked with were the most fun, hilarious, exceptional and inspiring people I have ever known. Excuse me if I like to talk about them.
7. We also spent a disgusting amount of time together, so I have a lot of stories to tell.
8. My tan lines are weird, stop pointing it out. It takes dedication to paint stripes on your arms, wear them into the bay, and then realize that you have tiger stripe tan lines.
9. I may have lost some adult like social skills. I will try to learn again quickly.
10. I can cook ANYTHING on a campfire now, so allow me to share with you my skill.
11. If we go to Walmart, prepare for a long trip. I've realized the glory that is, and could spend my whole life there. DON'T RUSH ME.
12. If I'm trying to get a groups attention, I have about 50 ways to do it, and they are all highly effective. Just stand there and be impressed.
13. If I meet a kid, I will immediately turn back into being a counselor. Just watch and learn.
14. Don't compare my camp experience to your babysitting experience. You spent a few hours with a child while they did their homework, I was about 40 children's world this summer. And I had no TV to sit them in front of.
15. Yes, I make up great stories to tell kids. Yes, adults like them too. Yes, I tell them at parties.
16. It was the summer of my life. It was hard, I was tired, and I often smelled weird. But I also made best friends, learned so much, and created memories that will last the rest of my life. I will try to get you to do it next summer, and you really should.
You are amazing,
Samantha
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Up-Close and Personal: What a Summer
Hello to all of my fellow camp counselors!
It has been nearly three months since I last wrote. But as I stated last summer, I get so swept up in the summer and camp and never write. Based on my views, I get the feeling that the very few of you who read my blog have a similar scenario, as the views go way down during the summer.
I had the most incredible summer! As I mentioned, I left my home, the camp I had been at for over a decade. I started a new adventure at a day camp, which was really scary and challenging for me. I was nervous, sad and torn at the beginning of the summer. Now, nine weeks of camp later, I couldn't feel more opposite. I found a new home and a new camp family, and learned more than I could have ever imagined.
I wrote a ton in my journal, and look forward to sharing my experience with you over the next few months. But I thought that I would give a very brief summary of my summer at a new camp, and the incredible experience that I had.
The summer started on the first day of training. I was still sad from my weekend at my old camp, and was slightly regretting my choice to lead. When I walked up to camp, the other staff were singing songs and doing "blitz" at the logs, where all of camp would start and end each day. The day of training was different then what I had experienced in the past. We played a lot of games, talked in small camps, and discussed logistics of our days. However, something was different. There was a different atmosphere. It was a lot of fun throughout the day, and I became instantly friends with several staff members.
I got to know the three other senior counselors in the small camp with me. We had the oldest campers, and had a very different program from the rest of camp. Our small camp was composed of four senior counselors, a rock climbing specialist, and a director. Throughout the summer, we became especially close. The number of inside jokes, stories and memories we share are countless, and I haven't ever felt so close to fellow staff members.
Camp days varied, and consisted of anything from rock climbing (on real rocks, not at a gym, which blew my mind), beach days, sailing, stand-up paddle boarding and kayaking, high ropes courses and a hundred games of mafia. My campers were around 13 years old, and through the summer I had three groups. We bonded over challenge course, took a million pictures at photo scavenger hunts, and had a few water fights. Each group was at camp for three weeks, which gave us a chance to really bond and come together.
One of my favorite memories was from the second session of camp. It was the last day, and we were coming back from the beach. On the route, somehow we got into a competition of who could make the best fart noises. Everyone was laughing and being so silly, and it was truly one of those quintessential camp moments.
It was an amazing summer, full of so many lessons, memories and laughs, and I look forward to sharing pieces of what I learned with you over the coming off-season.
You are amazing!
Samantha
It has been nearly three months since I last wrote. But as I stated last summer, I get so swept up in the summer and camp and never write. Based on my views, I get the feeling that the very few of you who read my blog have a similar scenario, as the views go way down during the summer.
I had the most incredible summer! As I mentioned, I left my home, the camp I had been at for over a decade. I started a new adventure at a day camp, which was really scary and challenging for me. I was nervous, sad and torn at the beginning of the summer. Now, nine weeks of camp later, I couldn't feel more opposite. I found a new home and a new camp family, and learned more than I could have ever imagined.
I wrote a ton in my journal, and look forward to sharing my experience with you over the next few months. But I thought that I would give a very brief summary of my summer at a new camp, and the incredible experience that I had.
The summer started on the first day of training. I was still sad from my weekend at my old camp, and was slightly regretting my choice to lead. When I walked up to camp, the other staff were singing songs and doing "blitz" at the logs, where all of camp would start and end each day. The day of training was different then what I had experienced in the past. We played a lot of games, talked in small camps, and discussed logistics of our days. However, something was different. There was a different atmosphere. It was a lot of fun throughout the day, and I became instantly friends with several staff members.
I got to know the three other senior counselors in the small camp with me. We had the oldest campers, and had a very different program from the rest of camp. Our small camp was composed of four senior counselors, a rock climbing specialist, and a director. Throughout the summer, we became especially close. The number of inside jokes, stories and memories we share are countless, and I haven't ever felt so close to fellow staff members.
Camp days varied, and consisted of anything from rock climbing (on real rocks, not at a gym, which blew my mind), beach days, sailing, stand-up paddle boarding and kayaking, high ropes courses and a hundred games of mafia. My campers were around 13 years old, and through the summer I had three groups. We bonded over challenge course, took a million pictures at photo scavenger hunts, and had a few water fights. Each group was at camp for three weeks, which gave us a chance to really bond and come together.
One of my favorite memories was from the second session of camp. It was the last day, and we were coming back from the beach. On the route, somehow we got into a competition of who could make the best fart noises. Everyone was laughing and being so silly, and it was truly one of those quintessential camp moments.
It was an amazing summer, full of so many lessons, memories and laughs, and I look forward to sharing pieces of what I learned with you over the coming off-season.
You are amazing!
Samantha
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