A Vespers sunset over China Lake
This last summer I worked, for the second year in a row, at the sleep-away Quaker camp in South China, Maine that I myself attended as a camper for three years in high school. It’s called Friends Camp, and I am not exaggerating when I say that this camp changes people’s lives. At camp we try to live by the Quaker values of SPICES: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship (which is sort of like the Quaker version of sustainability). Twice a day we spend fifteen to twenty minutes in silent reflection, the Quaker form of worship – morning meeting inside Aviary Hall, and vespers, where we sit on a hillside and watch the sunset over China Lake. Both of these periods end in hugs and handshakes between campers and counselors, kids running around to make sure they hug all of their friends – maybe giving an extra-tight squeeze to that one person from their cabin that they know has been a little homesick. I could go on writing about Friends Camp forever, but I’m pretty sure everyone else would get bored long before I would – it’s hard to stop talking about a place that you love so much. I think I get this way about my experience at Scripps sometimes too, so some of you probably understand this.
The daily schedule at camp! This does not accurately reflect the amount of work staff does.
Being a returning counselor, I already knew the rhythm of camp – the two-week sessions, daily jobs, morning and evening programs, how to supervise at waterfront. It was a definite advantage because it meant I could spend more time trying to come up with creative programs or electives, or fun things for my cabin to do, and less time making sure I hadn’t forgotten anything and was doing a good job. About three weeks into the summer I had a realization when I pulled up an old email. It was from an assessment activity that I had done with CP&R in the spring, where you take a deck of cards with things like “spirituality,” “personal safety,” and “diversity,” and sort them based on how important these different factors are to you in terms of your career/workplace environment. The email was from after I had done the activity, and included the list of my top ten, as follows:
- Excitement
- Spirituality
- Creativity
- Honesty and Integrity
- Influence People
- Fun and Humor
- Diversity
- Location
- Personal Safety
- Work-life Balance
Looking over the list, I was struck by just how many of them applied to my work at camp. It had never occurred to me that something like working at camp could actually be something that was so fulfilling to me because I had kind of fallen into it for lack of a better idea of what to do with my summer the year before. Somehow, without trying, I had ended up in a job that was nearly perfect for me, even if it wasn’t something I could do forever – or even year-round. Looking at that email was when I started to admit to myself that I very well might be coming back for a third year in the summer of 2013. I was a camper for three years – why not be a counselor for the same number of years? Next summer is a little far away, but I’m keeping an open mind. It’s hard for me to justify to myself why I would ever go somewhere else and risk it being far less fulfilling, but I know I can’t be a camp counselor forever.
What things have you done in the summer that you found particularly fulfilling? Or have you had a job or internship during the school year where you felt this way? I’d love to hear your stories!