Dandelions Are Magic. Literally Tiny Suns In The Grass That Turn Into The Moon And Then The Stars When

Camp Names:

So you’re spending the Summer at Camp, and your Camp uses “camp names”… Whether you’re a new CIT or a counselor, using a camp name can be hard to adjust to (even if you’ve been waiting for this moment for years)!

You need to learn to respond to a new name, write it on papers, and introduce yourself as such. The secret to (quickly) learning to identify with and respond to a new camp name?

Refer to yourself in the 3rd person!

Yep, it’s weird! And yes, it’s awkward! But it truly works like a charm. Narrate what you’re doing, answer questions in the 3rd person- use your name in 3rd person references liberally and then some.

“Sunshine is feeling great about high ropes!”

“Casper is going to go to clean up in here and then Casper will head to lunch.”

“Snappy is headed to the lodge!”

Help your new coworkers to get comfortable with their names: use their camp names liberally as well! Even if they are a returning staff member, using their name can help them get back into their camp persona (more on this later).

“Rhythm is good! How is Acorn today?”

“Meadow is going to the lake with Sketch, does Atlas want to join?”

“Has Comet seen Ponyo yet?”

This helps everyone to get into the flow of camp, and can speed up the adjustment process- don’t let camp culture shock get the best of you, embrace the weird new culture around you! But of course, speak up when you feel the new (or return!) counselor scaries set in. Whether it’s your first summer or seventh, the start of summer anxiety can get to you- talk to your fellow counselors and admin staff, and know you will do amazing things this Summer!

Oh you are so right tho, actually- in the OG context of this: hell yes!!

Our Admin team had a few years where they were just 4 perfectly matched personalities, and it’s 1) beautiful to see but 2) so great for staff quality of life lol I need someone to embrace my weird how they do each others

I need someone to match my freak the way my Camp Directors do holy shit

I love Girl Scout Camp because young girls are quite random; at Camp they really let loose and it leads to moments like this from a 7 ish year old:

*world’s most concerning gasp* “I’ve done the unthinkable!!”

Reader, she had simply threaded a pony bead onto a piece of elastic cord- the gasp caused my heart to skip a beat…

i love name-dropping people from camp with absolute no context to people not from camp. like just casually mention my good friend [greek goddess], and you can’t forget our coworker [name-brand cookie]. and of course, there’s [marsupial], who keeps texting me the most out-of-pocket life updates that mildly concern me… what are you talking about those are their names, completely normal names for a coworker

Working at a Summer Camp:

Working at a Summer Camp is not for the weak, nobody will tell you that it is easy- but everybody will tell you that it is oh so worth it.

Working at a Summer Camp is worth the long days and .

Working at a Summer Camp is worth the tipped canoes, and impossible swim caps.

Working at a Summer Camp is worth the soggy sandals, and muddy socks.

Working at a Summer Camp is worth the long hikes and dry, hot sun.

Working at a Summer Camp is worth the spiders, the too-close-for-comfort raccoon sightings, the mosquito bites that seem to never disappear.

Working at a Summer Camp is worth the late nights sat up with homesick campers, and the long, sometimes difficult conversations you have with older campers.

Working at a Summer Camp is worth every minor inconvenience, every sunburn, every rough day, because you make a positive impact on a young kid. This Summer, your time at Camp will be more important than ever- be the person a kid can to look to for hope, be the person that shows a kid they can be unapologetically themself, be the person who takes away their worries (even if it’s just for a week).

When you realize the impact you can have, everything becomes worth it. It will never be a walk in the park- if it were, everyone would do it! But it will always be worth it.

Campers enjoy some water activities at Camp Eagle Island summer camp.

Saranac Lake, New York

1960

things i learned working at a summer camp:

-you're gonna be ugly and not everyone's going to like you and that doesn't mean you aren't good and loveable and important.

-protective parents are the scariest and most dangerous creatures on this planet

-your beliefs will be questioned a lot in life and that doesn't necessarily mean they're wrong, but you have to be open to it. you cannot follow your beliefs without accepting that you're a human in a subjective world. sometimes you're going to be wrong and that doesn't make you a bad person.

-so many things can be solved with a hot meal and a full night's sleep

-friendships are going to be inconvenient. that is the nature of friendship. but you are going to do things for your friends because you love them, not because it's convenient, and vice versa. and it won't be a burden because you and others choose to carry that.

-literally just give yourself two minutes to breathe and think about a problem without outside influence. step into a broom closet and block your ears. sometimes you're panicking because you're overwhelmed by outside stimuli added to a situation, not because the situation is too overwhelming to handle.

-sometimes you've gotta be alone with yourself. you're feeling overwhelmed and stressed and like you're going to snap at anything that breathes? take a solo trip to the grocery store and buy a mango and eat it with your hands alone in your car. think about your favorite tv show. plan your future apartment on pinterest. just only talk to yourself for an hour or two.

-sometimes self care is a face mask but a lot of times it's washing your water bottle and your favorite pair of pants and filling your gas tank. i feel a whole lot better after washing my water bottle than i do a bubble bath.

-i'm so sorry to tell you this but exercise and vegetables will legitimately make you feel better if you've been depressed a while. i still get mad about it but it works.

go forth and be sane friends

Camp Names:

So you’re spending the Summer at Camp, and your Camp uses “camp names”… Whether you’re a new CIT or a counselor, using a camp name can be hard to adjust to (even if you’ve been waiting for this moment for years)!

You need to learn to respond to a new name, write it on papers, and introduce yourself as such. The secret to (quickly) learning to identify with and respond to a new camp name?

Refer to yourself in the 3rd person!

Yep, it’s weird! And yes, it’s awkward! But it truly works like a charm. Narrate what you’re doing, answer questions in the 3rd person- use your name in 3rd person references liberally and then some.

“Sunshine is feeling great about high ropes!”

“Casper is going to go to clean up in here and then Casper will head to lunch.”

“Snappy is headed to the lodge!”

Help your new coworkers to get comfortable with their names: use their camp names liberally as well! Even if they are a returning staff member, using their name can help them get back into their camp persona (more on this later).

“Rhythm is good! How is Acorn today?”

“Meadow is going to the lake with Sketch, does Atlas want to join?”

“Has Comet seen Ponyo yet?”

This helps everyone to get into the flow of camp, and can speed up the adjustment process- don’t let camp culture shock get the best of you, embrace the weird new culture around you! But of course, speak up when you feel the new (or return!) counselor scaries set in. Whether it’s your first summer or seventh, the start of summer anxiety can get to you- talk to your fellow counselors and admin staff, and know you will do amazing things this Summer!

An instructor teaches archery to a camper in the summer camp "Wooden Acres"

Montreal, Quebec

1942

(Good) Camp Directors are active supporters of staff’s pure chaos and it really does set the bar quite high for future management… like what do you mean a 9 to 5 won’t support me standing on the table singing a song suspiciously close to Rattlin’ Bog at 8 am on a Monday?

I need someone to match my freak the way my Camp Directors do holy shit