Nine years ago, my parents dropped me off at overnight camp for the first time ever. Wow, nine years ago… that’s just hard to think about. Anyways, I do not remember much about that first summer, but it must have been fun because I came back the next summer, then again, and again, and again, and again, and, while, you get the point. I really liked it there. Back then, I would not have been able to explain what I loved about camp so much. I would have said something like “my great friends” or “all the sports we play,” but now I understand it means so much more than that. If I was to explain all the memories I made on that hillside throughout my seven year career as a camper, this essay would be well over 650 words, so I will refrain from doing so. Instead, I will talk about my transition from camper to counselor and how it helped me realize the importance of giving back. …show more content…
I spent the entire school year looking forward to returning to that hillside, but now it became time to transition to staff. So I asked myself, “what's next?” Instead of running around having the best time of my life, I would be overseeing campers while I can only reminisce about it. I never hesitated to come back, but I did not look forward to it quite as much as I had in the past. That year as I went through the process of interviews and questionnaires to prepare me for staff, I never thought about what made made being a counselor so great. But as the summer rolled around and I found myself back on the hillside once again, I immediately realized that being a staff member is all about giving the campers the best summer of their life, like my counselors did for me when I was young. I had to experience the atmosphere of being a counselor to realize what it meant. It was finally my turn to give back to camp, and I knew I had to do a great job considering how much camp did for me in the previous
Last summer I volunteered to be a camp counselor at a camp in Blowing Rock, North Carolina called Camp Sonshine. This camp is different from others in that they bring children ages 5 to 18 from inner city Memphis, Tennessee to the Appalachian Mountains. This
No matter what happened during the school year I would always come back to camp and be able to spend time with the girls that went from friends to family over the nine years that I had known them. This last year was the last time I would ever get to do activities, earn merits or even swim a mile. During my last two weeks at CLH I knew this but it did not sink in until it was my last time to hike up to Church Mountain as a camper. On the way up my eyes started to sting and I reached over and grabbed my friend Riata’s hand. I looked over at her and saw that she was crying too. Once I realized she was I looked around and witnessed my entire cabin start to break down and come to understand, this was our last year, our last chance to do anything a camper could do. It was during this time that I truly came to appreciate everything camp has taught me and the great friends that I made along the way.
Attending Troop N Camp Cadet was truly an experience that I cannot say enough great things about. The camp truly pushed me to my mental and physical limits, and because of that, graduation day was a day I will never forget. As I think back on this experience, many people stand out to me. One of the main groups of people was of course the advisors, which were helped by the junior counselors. I believe that I, being given the opportunity to be a junior counselor, would be provided with a positive experience for many reasons.
I knew my transition from an ordinary visitor to a volunteer would be a new and exciting experience. My task in the Summer Reading Program was to register patrons, explain how the program works, and give out prizes at the end of each week. The number of children who registered for the program impressed me. I enjoyed working with these children, since I knew exactly where they got their excitement from. I would look forward to seeing the smiling faces of the children as they received their prizes. Their faces made me reminisce about the joyful moments I had as a child when I couldn't wait for the grand prize week of the Summer Reading Program.
It gave me a glimpse of what it will be like when I am a teacher someday, and I was able to share with a younger generation one of my passions. The week of the camp I worked for approximately thirty-five hours. The actual camp was twelve hours, and the rest was planning the activities for our classes. I was in charge of teaching voice and directing the play for the end of the week. It was a lot of hard work, and a lot of the kids were hesitant to participate at first, but in the end it was rewarding because when I see these kids in the community they see me and usually give me a hug or tell me how much they loved the
However, the hardest thing to deal with at camp is the kids that are from broken homes. It is difficult to be so blatantly aware that a young child is suffering and is not loved at home. Camp is very draining both physically and emotionally. I have worked many weeks but I could not look forward to a paycheck. I had to find something to keeps me going and that thing is that at the core of my values and beliefs is concern for others and knowing through service and love I can make their week the best it can be. Just as the staff at Dallas Valley impacted my life, I hope to have meaningfully helped and inspired my campers. This experience has taught me that not all hard work or good deeds are seen but they are worth more than the recognition. I learned there is so many more important things in life than making money. I am very grateful to have worked at camp. I can now take the people skills, the patience, and the responsibility I learned at camp and use it at school, at home, and in the work force. Moreover, I have solidified my values of integrity, service and
During my sophomore year, I decided to sign up for the class "Intro the Counseling Psych." Little did I know this class was going to set me on a course that would change my high school career for the better. It has been two years since taking that class and I am now officially a high school student counselor. As a counselor, I have many opportunities to better my school community. One of such opportunities is taking part in putting together a high school camp. This camp is no ordinary camp though, this event is put on by the psych-social department and is meant to help students become comfortable with who they are. As a staffer, I spend three weeks prior to the camp, painting signs, preparing activities, and even finding costumes to get students
The rest of the week went extremely quickly; I’ve never learned more about my spiritual relationship with God. Not a single day at Gull Lake Ministries was the same. There was always a new adventure to discover. Whether it was making friends, playing games, or jumping off a one-hundred-foot tower, camp was always entertaining and fun. I found that the “camp high” that my friends had told me about was real, and it changed me for the better. My first year at camp had been made a success through the combined efforts of the counselors, the staff, and my newfound friends. I have returned to Gull Lake six times since my first year, and
The summer of 2016 was my first step in achieving that goal. I applied for Cross Roads’ Leader-in-Training (LIT) program and was admitted, staying for all 6 weeks of youth camp learning what it meant to be a counselor. It revealed a level of difficulty to the job I wasn’t aware of as a child. A super counselor makes sure he knows all of his camper’s names within an hour of meeting them; he understands how a group develops and how to guide a group in that process; he can help a child get over homesickness; most of all, he can give children the opportunity to grow as people and provide them the time of their lives.
In the words of the famed civil rights leader Mahatma Gandhi, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." Those who spend their time making a difference in the lives of people around them tend to know exactly what their calling in life is. Gandhi wrote the truth, and it is not difficult to see in everyday life. Giving back to others is a common theme among scouting organizations, educators, and even books and movies, displaying exactly how much a person can find themselves in the service of others. Two of the most well known organizations for giving back to others is Girl and Boy scouts. Scouts are famous for doing helpful things for other people. The Gold Award and Eagle Award, respectively the highest awards in girl and boy scouting, are centered around
I became involved in camp counseling three years ago after joining my local 4-H and Federation clubs, both of which have presented me with exceptional opportunities to become involved in my community. I had two main motives for joining these clubs: to become a more outgoing and profound leader, and to give back to those who have helped me
Giving back hold a high part of my life and special part in my heart. I've always been told if I can give back, do. Thus, throughout my life, I have participated in many community service projects and activities. With this being instilled in me at a young age, as a grew older I knew to keep this lesson as moral. I took this with me through all walks of life and with me to Morehouse College. Upon my first few days on campus, I came into contact with many different people and became involved in a few social clubs on campus. Do Better and Lytehouse, are two of those, just name a few. What leads me to want to join these groups where there involvement with self-improvement and community service around campus. In these group, we participate in plenty
Emma counselling was by far the most life-giving thing you did this summer. Your capacity to connect with the campers, especially the younger one, was beautiful. I would recommend that you apply for a counsellor position as long as you keep working on the things mentioned above. You will excel in this place.
Although my teachers and my filmmaking experience were important, I believe there was something that has changed me as a person more than anything in my life during that camp: my camp mates. The people that went to that camp made the whole
When we talked about the different narrative themes; communion, agency, and redemption. I think that redemption stuck out to me the most because of what I have gone through. I went from, a home with parents that didn’t really know how to raise a child, to a home that had a future for me. My story is about how my family has made a big impact in redeeming my life. With the help of my family, my life has been made better. Redemption is a very important theme and it has made big changes in my life. If I hadn’t been redeemed, I know for a fact that I wouldn’t be in college today. Ever since my life started some important family members were already looking at how they could redeem my life. In the last few years of my life, I have