Counseling for sixth graders at Camp Green Meadows was a good learning experience. I went one week in May and was a counselor for Mercy Springs Elementary School. 

At this camp I learned leadership skills and how to be a good role model to younger kids, and I learned to have more patience. There were a lot of ups and downs of being a counselor. It was hard emotionally, but also a big learning opportunity and a good way to make new friends and connect with my peers from school and other schools as well. 

There was a lot of pros and cons to being a counselor, some might be a bigger deal for others than they were for me personally. One of the cons was the sleepless nights due to the fact that as counselor, I was up several times during the night by the campers to use the restroom.  I had to stay awake until they came back to the bunks. One good thing about it is you have another counselor with you, so we were able to switch responsibilities with each girl, but almost every girl went to the bathroom at night.  With 15 girls total, I was up a lot each night. 

Another thing which can be seen as good or bad depending on how you look at it was not having a phone more than half of the time. Counselors only had access to phones on breaks but having a break from the kids and being able to relax a bit was definitely what kept me going through the week. 

The activities we did during the day was learn about orienteering and how to camp safely. The students would rotate between teachers during the day in their class and the counselors would be assigned a different class to be with each day and help supervise the kids.

Personally, I feel I would’ve had a better experience if people I knew went, but I definitely would recommend going as long as you have a friend with you. Overall, it was a good learning experience and I would recommend it to students who are good with younger kids and who like being outdoors.