It is hot. The sun has reached its maximum heat at about four o’clock in the afternoon. Chlorine from the pool burns my eyes and dries my hair to a crisp. Six and seven year old kids pull on my arms begging me to play another round of dodgeball and saying how this was the best camp day ever, and I couldn’t be happier.
My job is not just a summer job. For me, it is a way of life during break. Each day, develop my routine my jokes and my weird quirks that get the kids laughing. From about June to August, I have the distinct privilege of entertaining five to twelve year olds forty hours a week at a summer day camp organized by the city of Santa Rosa. Through my job I find it important to give back to the community by inspiring the kids, but I also find that they inspire me.
Perhaps the reason why I have become so consumed by my job is the joy ot brings me. throughout the school year, I have to act my own age to impress my friends and teachers, but in this nirvana I can be a kid again. the inner seven year old is free to enjoy life, laugh at dumb jokes and just have fun. Sandra Cisneros in her short story “Eleven”, writes, “What they don’t understand about birthdays and what they never tell you is that when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one.” My job requires that of me. I am not simply eighteen but all the years leading up to it. I have to pick and choose an age out of me like a juke box picking a song. Each child needs a specific age, one that they can feel comfortable with, one that is their friend. Otherwise, what am I, a giant adult who instructs them. Where is the fun in that?
Just as equally important as being young and funny is addressing my responsibilities of the job. Parents have entrusted me with their children eight hours a day to let their kids not only have fun but increase their social horizon and make new friends. So I still have to maintain my eighteen year old self to keep order. Finding that delicate balance between maturity and immaturity is what is asked of me. It is a hard balance to maintain. I find myself on occasion annoyed by Joey who is constantly trying to gain my attention, or on the other end of the spectrum, I take the immaturity too far that the kids no longer find it funny, but in striving for that balance, I have gained knowledge in more than just my job.
Since starting my job, me and my younger brother’s relationship has blossomed. Before I became a counselor, my brother and I would often fight due to a five year age difference to the point that complaints came from family, friends and neighbors. Now I am able to be that weirder, funnier and more inspiring brother that I wanted to be. Often I find myself laughing with him about nonsensical things. He has become one of my best friends because of my ability to be his age. I get to see him grow and in a way, I grow with him.
I see this adaptability as more than just something I use as a teenager. This balance can be integrated in the ability to have conversations with charisma. By retaining a fun side, life can never be dull and any opportune moment can be used to become a child if necessary. By learning how to be immature, one can truly be mature.