My Classmate's Perspectives

All of the pictures I received depicting my "future career" are pretty similar to mine. In the picture I'm wearing a t-shirt with some sort of writing on it and shorts with my hair pulled back and closed-toed shoes (which I've learned in my experience as a counselor is one of the golden rules of camp safety). Most of them have some sort of cabin in the background and the counselor/director herself (or himself) is carrying a clipboard and in one, a whistle. Almost all of the pictures (including my original sketch) also include trees somehow. This fits with the typical image of camp as being off in the middle of nowhere, away from the usual setting. However, most of my experiences with camps (both as a camper and counselor) have taken place on college campuses.

I was kind of surprised that only one of the pictures included children. This shouldn't be too surprising seeing as the assignment was to draw the person in the job in their setting, but from my perspective, being a camp counselor/director is largely about the kids I'd be working with.

I also think it's interesting that in all four of the pictures (five if we're looking at mine as well), the camp counselor/director has a smile on their face. Being at camp is usually considered to be a fun experience, so why wouldn't working there? However, after three summers as a counselor, I can tell you that the job is not always enjoyable. Making sure that everything is going according to plan (or coming up with a new, last-minute plan) and making sure that everyone is where they are supposed to be is a lot harder, more stressful, and often more frustrating than people realize.