One Thing.....

[Lilly]

What is the one thing you wish you would have known before you started working at camp for the first time?

[speedx5xracer]

How obnoxious i was when i was a camper to give me perspective on how to interact w/ new campers.

[ocean]

How to go to bed early

[who_stole_my_loofa]

that its hard!

[camper]

if you are a former camper, don't forget that you're a counselor now and have to be in charge sometimes!

[CAMPFRIEND]

I think that camper hit the nail on the head!

[rockinsmiles]

Haha yeah go to bed as soon as you can! oh and that letting the campers be happy is much more important then getting to the activity on time (even if they are going to miss some of it and you think they will be upset about it). really that is a tough question. its good camp last a while so i can make changes! :p

[Flukie]

That just because you grew up at camp, doesn't mean that you know everything - you'll look at the new staff a few years down the road and think, "If I had known then, what I know now..."

[Dave]

Good question. Hmm. I wish I knew how to handle specific situations better when I first started. After they occured I knew what to do, but when something happened for the first time (for me) I wouldn't really know what to do. Of course that doesn't happen anymore, but for the first fwe weeks when I started working at camp it was like that.

[Skater Bubbles]

There's lots of Counselor Drama, but not to worry cause you will always have friends at camp!

[camper]

oh yeah, and always put the kids before you...if you have to take a shower but so does one of your campers and there's only 1 shower in the bunk left open, don't say "too bad i'm the counselor i'm going first" let the camper go first.

[campCardinal]

Do not skip your break or spend half of it working because you feel bad leaving another counselor alone. You can't be a good counselor if you never have any me time to destress from the work of camp counseling.

Also, that it's okay to have fun at activities as long as you still put the kids before yourself. The campers like to see their counselor act goofy and crazy.

[camper]

yeah thats a good one, camp cardinal...the have fun at activities thing. last summer i wanted to be in my bunk's lip sync thinking that more counselors would be in their bunks'. it turns out i was the only one that did it w/my kids, but i probably had more fun too!

[CAMPFRIEND]

It's good for the campers to see you have fun with them. If you don't like they won't like.

[Lilly]

As someone mentioned, I think that my first year I didn't use my breaks/time-off wisely. I always found something job related that needed to be done and never took time for myself to just get away. I was burnt out by week 5. After that first year I make sure that my breaks are me time and that I spend much of my time off away from camp.

[Dave]

It's good for the campers to see you have fun with them. If you don't like they won't like.
That's very true. If you don't give a camper a good time, they can easily give you a hard time.

[Flukie]

I think along with being able to have fun (and get dirty, if necessary!) with your kids, is the knowledge for the staff that it really does take a lot of different personalities to make an excellent staff. The really outgoing and loud staff match the enthusiasm level of some campers while the quieter staff are completely necessary for some of the other campers to feel comfortable. If everyone was the same type of personality, we'd be doing a diservice to our campers. At first, I didn't really understand that, but the more I work at camp, the more I see the benefits of having different personalities to counterbalance each other.

[KiwiCRB]

the anser to all the camper problems

I think one of the most rewarding parts of being a counselor is being able to help a camper through some of their little problems. Having all the answers just wouldn't be the same.

[code3cadet]

yeah thats a good one, camp cardinal...the have fun at activities thing. last summer i wanted to be in my bunk's lip sync thinking that more counselors would be in their bunks'. it turns out i was the only one that did it w/my kids, but i probably had more fun too!

The the camp that I work at we have a counselor action, they get to bet on a group of staff. with money they get for doing good things and beting on things,playing poker and crabs. then on one brack they can do any thing to use. dress us up like girls make us clean there room. things like that. one time they painted me all blue and all the staff had to sing rambow munkys in on stage and others I was a drag queen

[Dave]

I think one of the most rewarding parts of being a counselor is being able to help a camper through some of their little problems. Having all the answers just wouldn't be the same.
I agree. It does feel good when you help a camper through tough times or a problem. :)

[who_stole_my_loofa]

Ahhh like when they want to know how to ask someone to a social? soooooo fun!!!

[camper]

lol loofa...your kids ASK boys to socials? our socials are like free for alls...no one asks anyone even the major dances when we have dj's and stuff. lol.

[CAMPFRIEND]

I was never a big fan of the camp dance. It caused so many problems. But the kids liked it and I guess that's what counts.

[countrygal]

At my camp everyone goes to the dances. We have a sr and a jr dance...but a lot of the time the sr's like to aske eachother to the dances. Its all in good fun and we havent had any huge problems with it as far as I know. One thing I learned at camp is that making the difference in a kids life makes a difference is urs as well. A child can make u smile no matter what mood ur in..its great!

[Dave]

I agree with that, countrygal. Making a difference in a child's life does make a difference in yours. That's one of the great things about being a camp counselor. And while we don't make a whole lot of money, that's one thing not even money can make up for.

[rockinsmiles]

I love the impact campers can make on you, especially since your always hearing about what you do for the camper! It is the little things that count all the way!

[CAMPFRIEND]

I think that you are all right. You can learn as much from the campers as they can learn from you! I have learned a lot over the years!

[code3cadet]

I was never a big fan of the camp dance. It caused so many problems. But the kids liked it and I guess that's what counts.

I love camp dance thay are the best. you see the kids dancing and having fun. And if they do not dance with the girls I get to do the Chicken with the kids :D

[Kerrbear]

Camp dances are AWESOME! Our campers tend to enjoy more of the hip-hop / rap scene, so the sr dances have that music, but at the jr dances we can play anything, from great big sea to spice girls! one of my favourite camp moments was when me and a few jr counsellors crashed the sr dance and interrupted their music for Cotton Eyed Joe and did the dance... oh man did we get funny looks, but it was a great time!

[Fallen]

We have dances at camps, but we do them a little different since it's all girl camp. I have fun. I tend to be the one looking silly because I'm acting goofy trying to get the girls who don't want to dance to join me and look better dancing then I am.

To answer the question I wish I knew how to deal with staff drama better. I can handle the drama between campers, but when it comes to staff it tends to get ugly.

[EchoLaker]

Back to the original question:

I wish someone had told me that admitting that you're finding something difficult isn't seen as a signal for someone else to points score on you - instead a signal for other people to support you and help you out.
There's no point quietly struggling along with something.

I also wish that I knew that I should have brought some Kleenex along to the Reprise night, and that at that night there's no point even trying to be strong and beat your emotions.
Of course now I know that you might as well just put your arm around the shoulders of the people either side of you, do your best, and if they're your campers, make sure they're holding up alright as well.

[Sparkes]

Counselors have way more fun at the dances then the campers do. All the campers do is gush over who likes who, and who is dancing with who!

[runrachrunn]

I wish I had known that sometimes you gotta step out of the office to have a good time. The first summer I worked as an admin, I never left the office and subsequently missed all the fun things that make camp what it is.

Last summer, I made sure to get out a lot more frequently - usually a few times a day, so I could maybe participate in a round of ga-ga or something.

[EchoLaker]

I wish I had known that sometimes you gotta step out of the office to have a good time. The first summer I worked as an admin, I never left the office and subsequently missed all the fun things that make camp what it is.

Last summer, I made sure to get out a lot more frequently - usually a few times a day, so I could maybe participate in a round of ga-ga or something.

Couldn't agree more, you have to step into the trenches - it's where the magic happens. I thought I was going to be missing out on this element; then my director made me an offer in orientation week that I wasn't going to refuse ! :D