This past summer I had the best experience of my life. After having been a camper at a girls camp along with working as a Counselor in Training and a Counselor, I was so upset when I missed the deadline for this summer. Â I knew I wanted the camp experience and didn’t know what I would do. Â Then I came across a boys camp that a friend from high school’s family owned… but never in my wildest dreams did I picture myself working at a boys camp… I mean, its for boys to work at, right?! WRONG. There are plenty of opportunities for girls, which I had no idea about. Â
I ended up landing my dream job: being a camp photographer. I knew it would be different from girls camp, but I never imagined that it would be exactly the thing I had always been looking for. Sure, working at a boys camp is not for every girl. Â It is very hard and very tiring at times. But I would not have traded my summer for any other experience, and I cannot wait to return next summer. Â So, if you also are in the market for a summer job, here are some things that I learned from working at a boys camp. Â Sure, the list is much longer in my head, but here are the basics…
1.Cheerwine, Cheerwine, Cheerwine: the drink of the gods!
2.You WILL have mutant bugs like spiders and crickets in your cabin ALL the time… along with mice, and you will have to either be squirmy about it for 3 months or let it make you stronger and one with nature.
3.You will become best friends with the girls in your cabin, because let’s face it, girls gotta stick together! (there are some things guys just cannot understand) Those late night conversations are sometimes the only things that keep you going.
4.When you actually wear something other than a tshirt and running shorts for once, little boys will barely recognize you and the teenage boys will give you tons of compliments that make you feel like a model.
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5.The end of every session will be harder and harder every time, and you won’t want to wait a year to see all the boys who have become your little brothers.
6. You will be puzzled as to how you are eating SOOOOO much food and yet getting in great shape!
7. You will try things you’ve never done before… like shooting guns at the riflery range!
8. You will realize that no matter how daring you are feeling and how much you want to have fun, getting into a mud pit with a bunch of adolescent and college-aged boys is DANGEROUSÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
 9. Boys and counselors get VERY into camp games! They will want to take their shirts off and cover themselves in paint.
10. People outside of camp will think you’re crazy for calling people you just met your BEST FRIENDS.
11. You will do strange things like become friends with camp snakes.
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12. You will fall in love with the people and the place and won’t want to leave.
13. You will long for the day when you won’t have to live out of a trunk anymore.
14.  Pre-teen boys’ sense of humor is different, but you have to accept it… Yes, my nickname became Mamma Goose… why? Because of my laugh. I’ve accepted it.
15.  Boys will ALWAYS throw gang signs in pictures… So naturally, counselors will have to be rough and tough too
16. The dances with the girls camp is the perfect opportunity to act like an embarrassing parent.
17. The counselor lair will be packed with people trying to watch movies every night.
18.  You will become the owner of a plethora of Walmart shirts… “Wolf Shirt Wednesday?!” “Cat Shirt Tuesday!”
19.  You will fall in love with the people and the place and won’t want to leave.
20. Â You will reapply the instant applications go out for next summer.Â