Why I Want to Be a Camp Counselor

The past few days I've been writing books preparing for this summer. I have to fill out an application for Maranatha that requires lots of long answers as well as apply for my EEP (service quarter instead of co-op). Can you pray that everything goes through without a hitch for me?

brunch with Fay to talk about this summer.

she's so encouraging!

Application Excerpt: The few times I talked about wanting to be a teen counselor at Camp Maranatha instead of co-op, I got some funny looks. I knew in the back of my head that it wasn’t “smart” to miss my chance to intern at a job worthy of a Senior for six months. However, my head and my heart don’t always agree. You see, I’ve tried a few types of service/ministry in my life. And every time I hang drywall in a flood-ravaged house or look a hurting child in the eye and tell them they are loved, I know it’s the most real thing I could be doing with my life. Please, don’t misunderstand, I love design and have lots of creative aspirations. I want to work at a magazine. I want to plan and brand events. I want to free-lance from home once I start a family. But all those things revolve around my life. I don’t want to start adult life next year only thinking about myself. That would mean I would set down a selfish path only to be unsatisfied and miserable years later. To really understand how my love for design and helping people go hand-in-hand, I need to turn my complete attention to people for a summer. Sure, the teenagers who come to this camp will be paying to be there, not necessarily impoverished or starving. But they will come with baggage and be looking for answers like most young adults do. And I am so excited to share my life with them and love them for who they are. It’s been a gradual process since I began college four years ago, but I believe that I am growing into a passionate, confident young women who is finally comfortable with not having everything figured out. And I can’t wait for the opportunity to encourage other young women when they are struggling with how overwhelming life can be.

I honestly thought I was more excited than anything for my Senior co-op job. However, now I feel so eager for the summer to begin that I’m sure this service project is what I should be doing instead. I know it might have come across like I was giving up on finding a job a few weeks ago. What actually happened is that during the job search process my desire to be a camp counselor grew as my interest in getting that prestigious job offer decreased. It’s hard to explain how I am at peace with working somewhere I will make no money and gain no design experience. I just know it’s where I’m supposed to be, beyond a doubt.