After my second year at Penn State, I returned home in May determined to spend the next three months reporting for my local newspaper. But I soon realized that most people set their summer plans months in advance. With that I learned my first lesson of the summer: It's nearly impossible to find an internship the week before you want to start working. Having nothing new to list as relevant experience on my resume, I was resigned to what I was sure would be a meaningless three months. Turns out, my experiences affected me more than I thought they would.
Following are other lessons learned from the summer of 2001:
Don't complain — nobody likes a complainer
When I got home from school, I complained — to my dad, my step mom, to people online and to anyone who would listen. I was bored. I missed my ethernet card and the "all-you-care-to-eat" meals. I complained so much about being bored that nobody wanted to be around me. So I became even more bored.
They're my family whether I like it or not, Part One
My cousin got married in July, giving me a chance to see all of the odd members of my family I don't get much chance to interact with. And I soon realized why this was the case. From my cousin Joyce — who wore a giant, shiny, gold hat all day — to the dinner conversation that centered around toilet seats, it was unsettling to realize that I am related to these people.
They're my family whether I like it or not, Part Two
My dad got married in January and moved us into his wife's house. After six years of just my dad and me at home, I suddenly had a step mom and a stepsister — an instant family (not a term I quickly warmed to). The summer was the longest period of time I had spent in the new living situation since the marriage. I resented having to battle with my stepsister to see who could ge t online first and lodged formal protests when she was on both phone lines at once. I never went into the kitchen when she was there because I felt so uncomfortable around her. I felt more like a visitor to the house than a member of the family, but when my step mom cooked dinner (a rare event) and my stepsister gave me a card for my birthday, I felt that I belonged for the first time.
I am not ready to be a 45-year-old woman
I spent the months of May and June working in the camp office surrounded by middle-aged women. The level of air conditioning was dependent on the degree to which the women were experiencing hot flashes. On one interesting day, I even learned how to give a breast self-exam. As the only guy in the office, I was subject to overhearing conversation on many subjects I had no interest in. There was a reason I stopped watching Oprah, and I was reminded of it this summer.
Don't answer the phone
This lesson applied both at work and at home. The phone never, ever rang for me. I'm not a secretary by profession and don't want to sit around all day taking messages for other people -- or even worse, picking up the phone to hear an angry parent complaining about a sock his or her child lost.
Be careful what you wish for
I spent two months convincing the owner and director to let me work in the office instead of with a group. I thought I would be happier inside than outside. But on the first day, as I stared wistfully out the window, I realized I made a bad choice. So I spent the next three weeks convincing them to let me back outside.
Inspiration can come from the most unlikely people
This was the most important thing I learned this summer, and it was an unexpected lesson. Halfway through the summer, someone got fired and I was reassigned from office boy to group counselor. It was difficult enough dealing with the children in our group, but one of the other counselors I worked with also had a medical condition to deal with. He showed up to work every day in a good mood, ready to do his job. Most days, he did his job better than I did mine. He did whatever he was asked, and rarely complained. Even with major surgery looming at the end of the summer, he kept his spirits up and was a fun person to be around. He showed me that you should live life even though you don't know what the future holds. Get well soon, Andrew, and thank you.
I should grow up, but I don't want to
I know I should get a real job next summer. After 15 years at camp, it's time to move on. But it's so much easier to just go back where everyone knows me instead of starting over and having to prove myself.
Then I wonder how many camp counselors the New York Times has hired.
