6 Signs You’ve Been a Camp Counselor

Working at a summer camp is no easy feat. Your days are unpredictable, and the kids even more so. At any given time, Suzie’s homesick, Emily’s bored, Justin took Jordan’s goggles, and Nick can’t find his flip flops. Whether you’ve survived one summer in a cabin or ten, the experience definitely leaves a lasting mark on you. Read on for some surefire signs that you’ve been a summer camp counselor— they’re even harder to hide than those lingering tan lines.

You can function perfectly off of almost no sleep

At camp, your days with the kids may not end until between 9 and 11 p.m., depending on their age and/or your ability to convince them to stop screaming and go to sleep already. After the kids are asleep, you get your daily few hours to be a college student (instead of a child or a parent) and spend time with your fellow counselors. By the time you get back to your cabin, it’s well after midnight. Still, you have to be awake and cheerful by the 7:45 a.m. bell, ready to help your kids get out of bed and ready for the day. Needless to say, you get good at operating off of little sleep. Going along with that…

You can sleep on any surface

Camp mattresses are a special kind of torture. Feeling like something between cardboard, newspaper, concrete, and a pile of needles, they definitely take some getting used to. But by the middle of camp, you’re asleep the second your head hits the pillow–long days will do that to you. Now, you can probably fall asleep *literally* anywhere.

You’d do anything for a popsicle

Only former camp counselors know the true value of a popsicle. They cool you off, hold you over until lunch, and, best of all, earn you a few precious seconds of silence while your kids eat them. Even now, you probably occasionally crave some sugary, flavorful ice, and would throw hands for a lick of that blue raspberry one.

You’re a professional dancer

Ok, maybe not professional. But after all those dining hall performances, you must be pretty close. The choreography to your camp songs is seared into your brain, so you couldn’t forget it if you wanted to. Doing camp dances while at a party may not be “cool” or even “normal,” but it is absolutely necessary.

You have friends from all around the world

This is one of the best parts of being a camp counselor. You’ve made connections with so many unique people from the coolest places. You may still text your co-counselor from the UK, snapchat the Australian soccer counselor, or follow the Mexican crafts counselor on Instagram.

You’re always up for a challenge

Your life at summer camp was unpredictable and often difficult. Maybe you struggled with the lack of downtime, with keeping your cabin neat (why are these kids so messy?!) or with figuring out how to teach your activity. Whatever it was, you conquered these challenges and made it out alive. As a bonus, you got some amazing, bizarre, and hilarious memories to keep forever. Whenever you’re faced with something that seems hard, you remember your hardest moments at camp and know that you can do anything.