No more soccer. No more drums.
No more campers temper tantrums!
I wrapped up summer camps for
the year on Friday and it's bitter sweet! I'm so excited for the extra hour of
sleep I get each night and for only having to work 40 hours a week rather than
78! But, I am so sad because I already miss my people!
Summer camp is really something
special. It's something more than a job. Those you interact with daily truly
become family! The relationships I've developed with my campers this summer were
so incredible and the trust I have in my counselors is unreal.
I had the amazing opportunity to
lead two amazing groups of counselors this summer, each group so very different
than the other- starting in size! Being their lead pushed me to a full new
level of growth unlike I've experienced in years past. They taught me so many skills
individually as individuals, as groups, and as a total summer experience.
My HCAF African Caribbean
counselors made Regis University BETTER THAN DISNEYLAND for our little campers,
giving them amazing cultural mirrors and helping them to navigate their
feelings and emotions within adoption. From Caribbean food class, to spoken
word, to street drumming, and white water rafting, my counselors were in it
100%. My ACHC Counselors taught me this year that it's more important to truly
listen than to be right. They taught me the importance of boundaries. They
shared that self care is the number one way to be effective, and just how to
have fun in all aspects of life. ACHC was so much fun during camp hours and
even more fun when the campers left. Y'all better return next summer. I NEED
YOU! And melatonin.
The Camp Takoda Wolf Pack
Counselors were the backbone of summer. Some days, they literally kept me
standing and were the only reason our group was functional. These amazing
ladies made our space the safe space needed for our campers and counselors to
be able to explore who they are, could be, and hope to become. The Wolf Pack
allowed each friend to be unapologetically themselves each day and what ripples
could come of it. The Camp Takoda Counselors taught me that I can do anything
for 15 mins, and when that new interval comes, I can do it again for the next
15. They taught me the power of redirection and the skill of relating to others
on various levels. They also became my pack (a group of canids that live, feed,
and travel together as a family group) who I knew I could rely on. I don't know
what I will do for 10 whole months without you! You all are my WOLF PACK, you
are LIFESAVERS and the best MENTOS eva!
Summer Camp has been amazing. I
truly have learned that I can do hard things. I can. Walk Regis University back
and forth while texting counselor about how to make it through a meltdown and
talking through a schedule change on a walkie. I can sit through a camper
meltdown and talk them through a tough time, on my hardest day. I can play
soccer in 100° heat. I can do hard things.
I can do hard things because I
am loved. I have amazing directors, and boss, and amazing co-coordinators, and
counselors who had my back. I have the best of friends who checked in on me
throughout the summer to make sure I hadn't hit burnout. I had the best puppy
cousin who greeted me every day when I got home with so much energy and
excitement. The love kept me going through the hard.
Only 6 months until I get to
start working on HCAF and 11 months until I get to Summer Camp again with HCAF,
and I can't wait! Summer Camp has my heart! I literally want to be a camp
counselor for the rest of my life!!!
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