Camp Fashion: A Counselors Wardrobe

Hello to all of my fellow camp counselors!

I have been lucky enough to grow up in and be a part of a lot of different groups. I spent my school year as an actress, ice skater and cheerleader all through my childhood. Through those activities, and being an adolescent girl, I gained an appreciation for fashion. Of course the other part of my year was spent at camp, where people pride themselves on not caring what they look like, which is also awesome.

Right now I'm taking a class at my university about human adornment and behavior. It's basically discussing why we wear what we wear, or alter our bodies in any way (hair color, dieting, tanning, etc). It got me thinking a lot about camp. We do have fashion at camp. It's certainly different than I would dress in say, my weekly sorority meeting, but it has it's own trends.

Don't believe me? Are you thinking right now 'the magic of camp is that you can look like and wear whatever you want'? Imagine this scenario for a minute. It's the first day of camp. You're a long-time, teenage camper. This camp is your home. You've (wisely) shown up in old jean shorts, a tie-dyed camp shirt, and ratty tennis shoes. There is a girl in your cabin. She comes in wearing brand new True Religion shorts, a Ralph Lauren polo and boat shoes. Functionally, you are wearing the same things. She's not in a prom dress, or snow boots, and yet, it'd seem so strange to the long time camper.

So, believe me now? The real magic of camp is that she'll probably be your best friend, even though you initially may have judged her on appearances. That's the real special part of camp. And here is a secret a lot of people fail to understand about me; I'm a little bit of that girl. Yes, I wear old shorts and a t-shirt to camp, but I also do my hair and makeup before each day. Do I do them as much as I do before class? Absolutely not. But I always have a little eyeliner and mascara on, my hair is either braided or in a teased high ponytail or a sock bun (my favorite right-now hairstyle).

So back to our topic, what are trends at camp? There are some that seem to cross over all camps, and some that are unique at individual camps. Here are a few of my favorites, and by the way, they all look phenomenal with a sock bun.

Tie-Dye

There is no more universal, long standing camp trend than Tie-Dye.

Old Camp T-Shirts

Because what says "I've been here forever" better than a shirt from 2004?

Homemade Shirts

Puff paint, sharpies, spray paint.

Knee Socks

I like to mix and match, and I probably own 30 pairs. You never know what theme day they can go with

Chacos

I have to put them here, because I know counselors really like them. Real talk though, I have never (and will never) own a pair. 

Norts/Soffees/Athletic Shorts

How many colors do you own?

Toms

This was a huge thing when I was the vaulting lead at my first camp. I wrecked a pair, and they smelled worse than anything I've ever experienced. They were well loved.

Nalgene Water Bottles

Or whatever your brand of choice is (whatever is cheapest at Walmart, I lose water bottles A LOT).

Hats

 Baseball hats say: I like this sports team, I go to this school, or I drive this kind of car.

Straw hats say: I'm trying to avoid sunburning my nose off of my face this summer.

Cowboy hats say: I'm working at a ranch camp

Decorated Clip Boards

I'm a quotes/bedazzling fan, and I've seen a few really cool collages.

Dramatic Animal Shirts

I can't think of how to describe these, but you know what I'm talking about. They have wolves or running horses on a cloudy looking background, and they are FABULOUS.

Multiple Bracelets/Arm Accessories

Wearing so many silly bands, friendship bracelets and watches that your lower arm is six shades lighter than the rest of you.

So those are a few of my favorites. Comment below and tell me what you wear at your camp, or what your personal favorite camp fashion statements are! 

Don't forget your Nalgene! 

Samantha

Summer 2014: The Life of a Camp Assistant Director

Hello to all of my fellow camp counselors!

How I have missed you all! I hope you all had wonderful, adventurous, challenging, successful summers, whether you were a camp counselor, director, or an intern at an accounting firm. I personally had an incredible summer, and I can't wait to share my experience and new lessons with all of you!

So it really happened, I was an assistant director. I'm having a hard time writing this, because it was indescribable. I have never felt so many emotions in one summer. I felt proud, frustrated, energized, exhausted, overwhelmed, confident, and a million other feelings.

I started summer the day after I got home from school. I was the co-on-site director for the after-school program run by the same camp I work at over summer. It's held at a very different kind of school. It's a school that focuses greatly on the emotional safety of its students, calls the teachers by their first names, and gives the children the opportunity to dictate the majority of their curriculum. I wouldn't say I loved the schools philosophy, but I learned more from those students in three weeks than I had in my three summers past. It was intense. (Camping is in tents) There will be several posts in the future that originate from some of the lessons I learned there.

As soon as that ended (overlapping it's end, actually) camp training began. I put on my grey director polo, my name tag, and stood before about 75 staff members, mostly new, scared out of my mind. We ran games, led training sessions, and then it was the moment I was most nervous for.  I met my small camp, at that point 5 (it would become 6 after the first camp session) senior counselors, all but one first timers. As we sat in the shady patch of grass, and I told them all about 7-9 year olds (our age group), I tried to imagine what the coming summer would be. Would they be close? Would they want to work there? Would they want to learn from me? Would I be able to help them?

Well I won't answer all of that right now, because that would give away the next few blogs I have planned. I will tell you this, it was nothing like I had imagined, and everything I could have hoped. Those six senior counselors, the rest of the staff, the other four assistant directors, the directors, the campers, it all added up to the best summer yet.

The summer was a blur, a blur that I can't wait to share with all of you. In the meantime, comment and tell me about how your summer went! I want to hear all about it. Also, best of luck for those of you that are currently in transition to the real world again. I know how hard it is, I'm starting my senior year of college and this world is so much different than my beloved camp world.

Try to adjust well,
Samantha