There's been lots of recent talk on the Facebook circuit of who's going to be who in Artichoke Land this summer. Lots of "I just got my returning staff app!" and "I'm officially going back!" and "I'm applying for a position I'll be absolutely terrible at!"
Over Christmas break I applied to work at other camps. I just accepted a job at one of them. Oddly enough, I went confidently into these application processes because I somehow knew, in the back of my mind, that I could always go back to my "original" camp and that they would always need me. It was my safety net. Sure, it was early January and I still hadn't gotten my returning Artichoke app, but I took comfort in knowing that it would surely be waiting for me in my school mailbox when I returned to A-town. It simply had to be there.
It wasn't. I've been officially blacklisted, shunned, overlooked, uninvited. From the only place that ever really forced me to come of age, called me to teach, tested my character and gave me the best friends I have. I am not wanted at my favorite place in the world.
In typical blue fashion, my feelings are hurt. Why didn't I get the memo? Is it because of who I'm friends with? Is it because I was a less than mediocre health officer? Special Friends, perhaps? Is it because of blog drama? Was there some string that I failed to pull?
Here's a New Year's resolution for ya: I'm not going to worry about it. I did my jobs the best I could. Kids from summer '06 still remember me and want to hug me. I sat up nights with a hysterical bipolar camper, read to a developmentally delayed teenaged foster child, cured a couple kids of homesickness, and drive 90 on Fenton Road to get a 14-year-old bedwetter's sleeping bag back on her bed before any of her cabin mates noticed. I am a good person, I did good things for that camp, and my work is done there.
I suddenly don't feel so bad about letting that place run its backwards ass into the ground. Hire bad counselors. Schedule poorly. Keep blurring lines of authority. Continue to take opportunities away from your campers and treat your hardworking staff like total shit. I won't be there.
I am now going to watch the Superbowl, eat a lot of crappy food and start drawing up ideas for my first summer at a new camp.
I am become Death
14 years ago
4 comments:
Your an amazing camp staffer and I'm proud of you for taking a job elswhere, you will be an asset to their staff. There are better things in the works
I know how you feel I was blacklisted as well. It's funny how your phone is always being blown up every wednesday with people trying to get you to work weekends then once a couple whiney babies there don't like you so you aren't aloud to work there anymore. Plus think of it this way, none of the really GREAT friends are going back, so you won't be missing much. Time to start over clean and make more great friends, not as good as us of course, but great none the less. You'll have a great time are your new camp.
As you said, the trend continues. It's obvious to everyone else that's not the way to run a camp. It will become obvious to the Y soon enough and the board shortly after.
Em, I didn't get one either. I'd have laughed out loud had I received one. And filled it out like I was applying for Hove's job. and under "Why are you qualified" I would write, "Because I'm not an asshole, I can read, and scheduling doesn't completely baffle me." But really, "I can read," makes me way over-qualified compared to Hove.
For the "Past Work Experience" section, I would compose something along the lines of, "..." ...I wanted to come up with something really witty, but there was too much shit. I can't sift through it.
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