From the ages of 9 to 19, I spent my summers on Conesus Lake at Camp Stella Maris. I am unabashedly a summer camp kid. I spent all year patiently waiting for the two glorious weeks I would spend at my favorite place on Earth.
It’s no wonder kids love summer camp so much; it’s designed to cater directly to them, providing a place of imagination and escape. I remember the eager anticipation of wondering what cabin I would be assigned to, if I would be put with my friends, who my counselors were and on and on. The days were filled with adventures through the woods, popsicle stick crafts and cooling off in the lake. I never understood the kids who were homesick or missed air conditioning. This place was my paradise.
All my 16-year-old dreams came true when I was hired there. Summer camp was like a second home to me, and while spending 10 weeks there may seem unimaginable to some people, it was everything I wanted. I was initially hired to work as kitchen staff, which they usually reserve for people they wanted to hire as cabin counselors but didn’t have room for. Looking back on this, it seems a little insulting, but at the time I could not have cared less. Also, food service jobs are incredibly important learning experiences, but that’s another story.
I ended up as a cabin counselor for four weeks that summer. It was not the same as being a camper whatsoever. I tried my best to remember the games and ice-breakers I had painstakingly memorized as a counselor in training. Kids are terrifying, complex little beings, and they have an unimaginable capacity to exhaust you in every way, shape and form.
But I absolutely loved it. So much so that I went back for two more summers after that as a cabin counselor. It is incredibly exhausting and rewarding work. I had children tell me how much they hated me and one even threw scissors at me. I had some campers who would sob at the end of the week and say they never wanted to leave.
As terrifying as kids are, and I know many people don’t like children or have a hard time interacting with them, they are just people. And at some point in your life, you were a kid too. You were an awkward 12-year-old that had no idea how to make friends. You were once a 7-year-old who desperately missed their parents.
One of the most rewarding parts of this job, and there are many, is seeing a piece of yourself in one of your campers and having a positive impact on them. It’s like a selfish kind of giving that makes you feel good about yourself to be doing it in the first place. But then a camper pees the bed at 4 a.m. and you’re the only one to take care of it and that feeling suddenly goes away.
I would not be the person I am today had I not spent my summers at Camp Stella Maris. I made some of my best friends there, I learned about myself and people and it truly made my life better. It sounds cliche, but I happen to love cliches. As an almost 21-year-old, there are definitely perks of having my summers free, but part of me will always ache to go back.