I Went To Bed And I Woke Up Feeling Well Rested. This Has Never Happened Before What Do I Do

There were some young kids playing at the park today. One of them said “Liar liar pants on fire!” The other one replied “I don’t even care about that. I don’t even believe in that.”

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!

things i learned working at a summer camp:

-you're gonna be ugly and not everyone's going to like you and that doesn't mean you aren't good and loveable and important.

-protective parents are the scariest and most dangerous creatures on this planet

-your beliefs will be questioned a lot in life and that doesn't necessarily mean they're wrong, but you have to be open to it. you cannot follow your beliefs without accepting that you're a human in a subjective world. sometimes you're going to be wrong and that doesn't make you a bad person.

-so many things can be solved with a hot meal and a full night's sleep

-friendships are going to be inconvenient. that is the nature of friendship. but you are going to do things for your friends because you love them, not because it's convenient, and vice versa. and it won't be a burden because you and others choose to carry that.

-literally just give yourself two minutes to breathe and think about a problem without outside influence. step into a broom closet and block your ears. sometimes you're panicking because you're overwhelmed by outside stimuli added to a situation, not because the situation is too overwhelming to handle.

-sometimes you've gotta be alone with yourself. you're feeling overwhelmed and stressed and like you're going to snap at anything that breathes? take a solo trip to the grocery store and buy a mango and eat it with your hands alone in your car. think about your favorite tv show. plan your future apartment on pinterest. just only talk to yourself for an hour or two.

-sometimes self care is a face mask but a lot of times it's washing your water bottle and your favorite pair of pants and filling your gas tank. i feel a whole lot better after washing my water bottle than i do a bubble bath.

-i'm so sorry to tell you this but exercise and vegetables will legitimately make you feel better if you've been depressed a while. i still get mad about it but it works.

go forth and be sane friends

Kindred spirits (lovers of all things Girl Scouts, particularly those which are vintage), I present to you my latest project:

Adding vintage badges to my ‘24 staff hoodie!

Each badge represents one week of my summer season, whether it be a lesson I learned or a reference to something that happened. I think I like the arrangement (all on the left sleeve) but I may change it… who knows! These are all from the 60’s!

Example- my third week is represented by the Campfire Cooking badge, because we had a (quite large) grease fire during cookout… not our finest moments but we survived!

i miss the noise of the woods. the cicadas at night and the crickets and the occasional wind rushing through trees or if it’s raining the pitter patter of the raindrops hitting the tent canvas and the whip-poor-wills and the morning doves and everything

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!

Don’t mind me. Just cleaning your dash

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Mary Schmich (1997 essay)

I think about this a lot. A lot of things scare me, but some things are worth being scared about and doing them anyway.

Finding which ones they are will be a lifelong pursuit.

When your highland goat eats all your shorts right off the line

To all the girls I met at camp and never saw again ❤️ perhaps we'll meet again in another life