My first time working at Camp Henry Horner in Illinois, in 2007, feels like a distant memory, but one that I know I will always cherish as the best experience of my life. Since my first year at camp, I have travelled the world, had two further camp experiences and been to uni, all amazing times, however nothing will compare to my first year at Henry Horner.

 

I always remember my mum talking about how I would love Camp America, but never really knew what it entailed, and to be honest, when I found out, aged 18, I was a bit disheartened- did I really want to sacrifice my first summer of complete freedom following my graduation from high school WORKING?! My friends were planning music festivals, beach holidays and travels, and were amazed that I was actually considering committing to 9 weeks of work. However, I also remember ‘brave’ being mentioned a few times, with friends shocked by my blasé attitude to being away from home for so long.

 

Anyway, after deciding that a) I loved working with children, b) I wanted to do something totally different, c) I wanted to travel and d) why the hell not?!, I signed up online, and quickly had my interview. I was amazed to be offered a place on a camp almost straight away. However, the idea of sleeping in a tent with limited electricity seemed a bit too extreme an adventure, and so against the advice of my interviewer, I turned the camp down. Luckily for me, the camp gods were obviously on my side, and soon after I was offered a place at Horner. I remember answering my phone to an American man (my soon to be camp director) and a 45 minute chat later, I was placed!

 

Leaving for camp was my next drama- my flight date was very early the morning after my school leavers prom... so I dealt with this the best way possible, and went straight from prom (following a quick clothes change into something more camp appropriate) to the airport!

 

I can honestly describe my time on camp as ‘ideal’. It instilled in me a love for the outdoors, with the beautiful fields, woodland and lake becoming my playground for two months. The activities I tried were endless, from ropes courses to outdoor cooking to fishing (my least favourite activity!) and even skating in their very own skate park (which I discovered was not my forte). Time spent at the beautiful lake was by far my most happiest and I have a fond memory of being dropped on the wrong side of the lake with a group of kids and made to swim back! I was initially placed with the youngest girls group which I loved, following which I got the chance to look after a slightly older group which was great in a very different way- I found these children to be so much more independent and could relate to me on more of a ‘friend’ basis.

 

 

Trips, Trips, Trips- What can I say, as a travelling camp, I got to visit tons of different places around the country... Six Flags was a standard trip location, as well as the infamous Mall of America in Minnesota. Trips were exciting in that we would all cram onto the coach at 11pm on a Friday night, and wake up Saturday morning at our location- and sleeping on YMCA gym floors became routine!

 

With camp being pretty much in the middle of nowhere, our only realistic options for days off were heading into Chicago (a two hour train ride away), a local shopping mall, or chilling on camp. And evening wise, we definitely kept the local pool hall open, run by a hilarious local called Bill who could address us each by name by the end of camp!

 

My post camp travels were also unforgettable, with about 15 of us travelling to Miami, possibly the biggest, greatest beach holiday. Staying in the scummy South Beach hostel was made up for by the fact that the hostels bar provided endless hours of fun come the evening! Following a couple of weeks in Miami, I spent a week road tripping around Florida, before flying back home from New York.

 

As soon as I returned home, I emailed the camp director to assure him that I would be returning the following year, a decision that about ten of my camp friends had also made! During my time in Miami, I had also made the rash decision to defer my place at university, and go travelling for a year- So off I went, around the world, staying with camp friends in Australia and New Zealand.

 

Before I knew it, it was June 2008, and I was back at camp, a very surreal feeling... however, such high expectations of recreating the previous summer was my downfall during my second time at Henry Horner. Note to returners- Never try to recreate experiences, just embrace the new ones as they come!

 

It was great to get to work with the same children from the year before, and seeing how much they had grown and developed in just one year was amazing! The highlight of my second year at camp however would have to be having the chance to work with some children from New Orleans. These kids had been sponsored to experience two weeks on camp, and they were honestly the most inspirational people I have ever met, who totally embraced every aspect of camp life.

 

Travelling after camp was another amazing adventure (note the use of adventure here)... think 7 girls, 2 weeks, one far too small van, and a return LA to San Francisco driving/camping experience!

 

Following two years of University fun, as well as becoming a Camp America interviewer myself, I accompanied my friend Laura to the Manchester recruitment fair in January 2010 in order for her to try to get placed on a camp. Arming Laura with the strict instruction of “don’t let me get tempted to go back to camp,” we headed to the fair, and of course, those camp gods were once again looking down on me, and before I knew it, I had gone and got myself placed on Camp Pacific in Southern California! The idea of a surf camp, Californian summer and a totally unique adventure were too much to resist!

 

So off I went, yet another experience beginning at Heathrow airport, bags packed and ready to go. Arriving at Camp Pacific was a massive shock, for starters it’s pretty much in the middle of a big holiday resort town, RIGHT on the beach, and with just 16 staff members! The polar opposite from Henry Horner, my summer at Pacific was full of responsibility, with all staff being both general counsellors as well as specialists, meaning we planned and ran all of our own activities. By far, my favourite was a week course I called ‘How to be a hippy’ ending in a fully costumed hippy demonstration in town for ‘Peace, Love and Ice Cream’!!!

 

The children at Pacific were also very different to those that I worked with in Horner- Almost all of the kids were international, coming from Italy, Spain, Taiwan and everywhere in between, to take extra classes in subjects like Oceanography and learn to surf! Another huge difference was the sleeping arrangements, with children sleeping in rooms of two, meaning that counsellors were given our own rooms separate from the kids- a lot more relaxing than sharing a room with 16 screaming girls.