Until you experience it you will never truly know what a summer camp in America is like. Your best friend will chew your ear off telling you all about their stories and show you the pictures of their summer out there, but, your experience will be unique to you.[
If you are from anywhere but America and haven’t been to camp in the USA before it is hard to imagine what those two words ‘summer camp’ really mean.
A lot of people think the idea of working away in a place like America for the summer could be a big scary thing, but you shouldn’t let that stop you from having the adventure of a lifetime. Even if you haven’t left your home continent, country or even your county before, you will feel right at home when you have spent a couple of nights at camp. Once you show up at camp you immerse yourself in the culture that is camp, kid and fun related.
One of the first things that your experience at camp is making friendships with people you would never have met, and possibly from places that you didn’t know even existed. As you are in a camp bubble, you grow so close to these new people that within a few weeks you know that they will be your friends for life. This is because for the summer they aren’t just friends or co-workers, they are your family who will help you with anything.
You are looking after parents most prized possession, their children. To the campers you become much more than someone looking after them, you are a monitor, a friend, an older sibling, a story teller and a superhero. Your campers really look up to you and will follow your lead long after they leave camp. You will be helping be a part of the shaping of these great young people. Who could they become? Robert Downey Jr., Natalie Portman, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Mark Zuckerberg, Harrison Ford and Adam Sandler all went to summer camp as kids so who knows where your campers may end up.
My advice to anyone who has even heard about camp is to make it your aim to get out there and be a camp counselor, even if its only for one summer. You will learn things about yourself and develop new skills in those 3 short months that would take years to develop in the outside world. In this environment you realize just how much of a positive impact you can have on peoples lives just by doing what you do every day, being yourself. At the end of the summer, you will leave with a feeling of achievement because you will have helped so many people over the summer for the better. The best bit is knowing that although camp may have closed for the summer it will be there next year waiting for you to return with open arms.
After speaking other people who have been to camp they all know at least one thing, going to camp was one of the best decisions they made. You can make that decision too! So make that decision today, register an interest and set sail on the adventure of a life time, you won’t regret it.
Until you take that leap of faith across the water you will never know.
What are you waiting for?
Adventure Awaits.