Camp counselors are not just babysitters.
Camp counselors are not just adults acting like children.
Camp counselors don’t just stand to the side while kids run around.
Camp counselors are friends, advocates, teachers, ministers, crafters, builders, cooks, survivalists, coaches, listeners, guides, wranglers, communicators, writers, caregivers, doctors, lifeguards, naturalists, actors, and supporters.
On any given day as a camp counselor, you’re expected to get seven kids out of bed, dressed, and ready for the day, lead a game, act out a skit, teach a Bible study, do group building activities, lead a specialty activity in a program you probably knew little about until two weeks ago, and help clean up the camp. And that’s just before lunch.
There is so much more to being a camp counselor than just babysitting. You are responsible for these kids. When they get in a fight, they expect you to resolve it. When they fall and scrape their knees, you are the one to clean it and bandage it. When they have a problem, they ask you for help. When one of your campers wets the bed, you have to wash their clothes and bedding. When one of your campers draws a picture for you, they expect you to hang it above your bed.
Resident camp counselors work twenty-four hours a day, six days a week. You have one day off, and that day is usually used to move to your new cabin, make nametags, do laundry, and repack. During the week, you might have one or two hours away from your campers. In addition to caring for your campers, you’re expected to take care of yourself so you can be at your maximum energy level all the time even though you don’t actually have time to take care of yourself. Everything you do is for your campers, no matter what. For the time these kids are with you, you are parent, friend, and teacher all rolled into one. You spend your time tired, hungry, and stressed so that your kids aren’t. You strive to give them the best experience possible and you would do anything to ensure that.
Being a camp counselor has meaning beyond making sure campers eat their vegetables. It means giving kids new skills and teaching them to use their talents. It means distracting them when they’re scared. It means giving these kids a safe place to be themselves. It means being there for them to talk to and ask questions. It means that you get asked questions that you don’t know the answer to. It means that sometimes your campers have bigger problems than you can solve.
Being a camp counselor makes your heart soar. It gives you joy to see your kids having fun. Their laughter brings a smile to your face. A compliment from your camper can make a bad day better in an instant. But being a camp counselor can break your heart too. Seeing kids with experiences they should never have is awful. Hearing about problems your campers have that you can’t help solve makes you feel absolutely useless. These things make you remember that you can’t fix every problem in the world, and it’s humbling.
Out of these experiences, though, you learn so much. Camp counselors are close enough in age to remember what it was like to be a kid, but old enough to recognize that a lot has changed since then. You learn about yourself, too. You learn how to be patient and give instructions. You learn what it takes to live and work with the same twenty people for an entire summer. You learn very quickly how to care for a group of kids by yourself and you learn how to get them to move from place to place as a group in a limited amount of time. You develop your own skills and talents while teaching kids about them as well.
There’s so much more to being a camp counselor.
Camp counselors are understanding and compassionate.
Camp counselors are role models.
Camp counselors are devoted to making kids’ lives better.
Being a camp counselor is demanding and tiring, but it is so, so worth every second.
