Today marks the halfway point for the sessions. The staff has been here for about a month now and we are doing everything we can to keep up the energy and enthusiasm. I'll admit, it's fucking hard. It's so incredibly hard to deal with workshops, the crazy schedule, and the various things that campers do that we have to deal with constantly. Sometimes I feel like as soon as I am able to take a breath, another crisis comes along. If it weren't for the amazing staff here at Big Idea, I wouldn't be able to get through this. It should go without saying that my co-counselor is so amazing and I'm hoping we stay together until the end of camp because we work really well together. Seriously, without this amazing staff, I would have been out of here on the first day of camp.
While I am learning so much from this experience and gaining so much strength, not just physically but also emotionally, I am really looking forward to returning to normal life. I'm going to feel like a queen in my studio apartment with good food and working with adults on a regular basis. It's also going to be amazing when I get to wake up in the morning and not just throw on a pair of shorts, my staff t-shirt, and my birks. It sounds quite silly, but I am starting to feel like I am loosing a part of myself because I have to sensor my words, actions, and the way that I dress for the campers. I feel like the demanding nature of the camp is starting to suck away my sense of self. While some of that is just me becoming more mature, it's also just me having to change myself to be a counselor. I'm really looking forward to going home and bring back the maturity and experience that I've gained from camp, but also finding who I am again as my own being, and not just another of 50 counselors.
Last night was Kabalat Shabbat here at camp, and Kabalat Shabbat at Big Idea is actually really amazing. They have done a really amazing job of balancing the evening to give those a taste of what shabbat is, but not force religion down their throats. Those who are religious and are shomer shabbat are accommodated, and we have a synagogue and services that they can go to if they need to. I had the opportunity to sing with the group that does the Kabalat Shabbat because someone was on a night out, and it was such an amazing experience. I'm not religious and I don't keep Shabbat, but singing the traditional songs and just the general feeling of leading people in the songs that I'm so familiar with was really amazing. It was a new experience which was really nice because a lot of the things at camp are just the same with every day/session/week/etc. It also reminded me of being at home for Kabalat Shabbat, which I haven't done in a really long time because of college/work/and just the general insanity that has been this summer. I will say that after being sick, coughing, and yelling for 3 weeks, my voice wasn't the greatest, but I got a lot of compliments which was really nice because I was super nervous.
We have 3 more weeks of camp, 1 more week of this session and then a whole other session. It feels like I've been here forever, but also like I just got to camp. I feel like before I know it, I'll be back at home starting the new school year. I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to working my butt off for me and not for little kids.
While I am learning so much from this experience and gaining so much strength, not just physically but also emotionally, I am really looking forward to returning to normal life. I'm going to feel like a queen in my studio apartment with good food and working with adults on a regular basis. It's also going to be amazing when I get to wake up in the morning and not just throw on a pair of shorts, my staff t-shirt, and my birks. It sounds quite silly, but I am starting to feel like I am loosing a part of myself because I have to sensor my words, actions, and the way that I dress for the campers. I feel like the demanding nature of the camp is starting to suck away my sense of self. While some of that is just me becoming more mature, it's also just me having to change myself to be a counselor. I'm really looking forward to going home and bring back the maturity and experience that I've gained from camp, but also finding who I am again as my own being, and not just another of 50 counselors.
Last night was Kabalat Shabbat here at camp, and Kabalat Shabbat at Big Idea is actually really amazing. They have done a really amazing job of balancing the evening to give those a taste of what shabbat is, but not force religion down their throats. Those who are religious and are shomer shabbat are accommodated, and we have a synagogue and services that they can go to if they need to. I had the opportunity to sing with the group that does the Kabalat Shabbat because someone was on a night out, and it was such an amazing experience. I'm not religious and I don't keep Shabbat, but singing the traditional songs and just the general feeling of leading people in the songs that I'm so familiar with was really amazing. It was a new experience which was really nice because a lot of the things at camp are just the same with every day/session/week/etc. It also reminded me of being at home for Kabalat Shabbat, which I haven't done in a really long time because of college/work/and just the general insanity that has been this summer. I will say that after being sick, coughing, and yelling for 3 weeks, my voice wasn't the greatest, but I got a lot of compliments which was really nice because I was super nervous.
We have 3 more weeks of camp, 1 more week of this session and then a whole other session. It feels like I've been here forever, but also like I just got to camp. I feel like before I know it, I'll be back at home starting the new school year. I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to working my butt off for me and not for little kids.
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