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Camp Life - Blog Posts
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!
“That’s not possible, there’s only 42 hours in a day,”
Camper in Response to another camper saying “I haven’t slept in 48 hours!”
When camp friends get you the hook up on international foods ❤️🌏😁
Waiting for Camp
What Camp Friends think I do:
What Out-of-Camp Friends think I do:
What I think I do:
What I actually do:
Let’s be real- I’ve been packed for at least a week and I’ve unpacked and repacked both bags at least twice.
4 more days! I can’t wait to go back to camp!
Me… patiently waiting to fly to Washington for camp…
Come have one of the best summer jobs EVER!!!
Transition from Camp to… the Real World?
I am honestly having a rough time transitioning from camp life to daily life. I lived and worked at camp from June through October and I find myself comparing life to camp. I went to wash the dishes: no Hobart, no closed toed shoes, no apron, and no shenanigans to the sound of Green Day or P!ATD. The TV in Shutanka usually had some sort of weird movie, a nature something, or a cartoon of some sort: the news is seriously depressing. Being myself with my coworkers and friends versus being "myself" with my family is strange. I miss campfires, late DnD sessions, and walking down the trail of happy feet just to get to my bed. I miss the crunch of gravel under my feet, the sound of the waves crashing on the bulkhead, and the still, cold mornings followed by breezey afternoons. But, here I am. I stayed with my sister about 30 minutes from camp for a few days, then I flew to California to stay with my Abuela, and in a little over a week I will fly back to Texas for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Don't get me wrong, I love being with my extended family in Cali and I am definitely excited to be seeing my mom and brothers in the near future and I am stoked to hold my dog again. But I also cannot wait to go back to my island home at camp. I am having camp withdrawals and it's pretty rough.
