Redefining Reality

“The whole time I couldn’t wait to go back to my real life, now I feel like my real life is fake and camp is real”

– Quote from Camp, the Movie.

So I was drifting aimlessly around the internet researching summer camp movies looking for a resource for next years staff training (yes, planning is already underway!) and I came across a new movie aptly called “Camp”. When I watched the trailer I felt an instant connection to this film and the story it tells, now I await its delivery to me so I can watch the movie in full. But it was this quote that rang true. The most impactful and enjoyable part of my year is the time I am at camp. Camp is my real career, and my other job despite being for 2/3rds of the year is really just a holding pattern until I can get back on that island paradise that is Camp Lawrence.

This is in essence the redefinition of reality for me.  As a kid growing up, I wanted to be an accountant and be able to walk down the street with my briefcase and have an office – all the trappings of a successful professional. Then while at University I realised I wanted to work with youth and after a while decided to take a break from ‘life’ and spend a summer at camp. That supposed one-off summer had a big impact on my chosen career path and my new reality is just that. I now consider my “dream job” and incidentally, my current job, to be that meaningful role of a senior summer camp staffer responsible for training staff and young leaders at camp while overseeing the care of 150 campers, and I love every minute of it! Camp is real… and the “real life” outside of camp sucks! I would always rather be at camp even if I’m dealing with a clogged toilet or a misbehaving camper. As another staff member once told me, “it’s my happy place”, and is an industry I plan to spend many more years being a part of. So, now I am a successful professional in an industry and career I love, and it’s certainly more fun than being an accountant…

I can’t wait to sit down and watch the movie Camp when it arrives. If you get the chance, I encourage you to see it as well.