What to expect as a New Counselor

Hello There!

Congratulations! You might not know it yet, but you have just changed your life in a great way by becoming a Nakanawa counselor. I should know, because I did the same thing four summers ago. I’d never heard of Nakanawa before, never known anyone who went there, and certainly had no idea how to pronounce it. (I called it ‘Nak awa nana’.)

At first, I was nervous that I would not fit in with the women and girls that have been coming to Nakanawa for generations. I had never worked a summer camp before and had no idea what to expect out of a camp that called their bathhouse ‘Egypt’ and woke us up with a bell. The first time I sensed that Nakanawa might be a wonderful place was when I received a reply from Ann Perron, the owner/director of camp, about an email I had sent a few hours earlier. The email I had sent had a long list of too many questions about things that I felt like I needed to know for camp. I was amazed that she replied so quickly and answered all my questions in detail. She even encouraged me to email or call her if I had more questions. I was impressed with the personal interest she took in helping me feel comfortable coming to a new place for the summer.

The most frightening minutes of my summer were those last few of the drive to camp. What would it be like? Would I make friends? What have I committed myself to for the next 6 weeks? However, as soon as I drove into camp there were people already greeting me and waving hello. As soon as I wandered up to the office porch to get my cabin assignment, a few fellow counselors offered to help me move in. These were women I had never met and yet they were so friendly. After moving in, it was time for lifeguard training. Being from the city, I did not have experience swimming in a lake. When I was told to jump in the lake and start swimming, I froze. The other counselors encouraged me and I took the leap into Lake Aloaloa. From then on, I knew the summer would be great!

Make no mistake, Nakanawa is centered upon the girls, and by that I mean every female from 6-80 on that campus. You’ll find quickly that being at Nakanawa teaches you personally far more than you will ever teach a child about tennis or canoeing. There are so many women that keep coming back to camp summer after summer because they love the place so much, and are eager to teach everyone the things that they have learned. You won’t be alone, I promise.

The one thing I wish that someone would have told me while I was getting ready to come to camp is this: be ready for some intense traditions. The first day in the dining hall is going to be a mind boggling experience, “You expect me to eat my bacon with a fork? Fourth the bread? What does that even mean?” You’re not going to get it all immediately, but it will become second nature soon. Just go with the flow, mouth the words to the songs, and slowly you will understand that these things that seem so foreign at first are part of what makes Nakanawa such a special place.

Surprisingly, it all gets so much easier when the bunkies come. You think you’ll never get through the first day, but then suddenly when all of the cars are gone, when what was previously a clean, empty cabin is now a dusty disaster zone and all the girls are in bed you realize: I can totally do this. Because after that, it’s the easiest job in the world. Sure you’ll work hard and be exhausted, but you will soon understand that it doesn’t matter if you teach them all how to shoot a bullseye from 100 feet. Your job, quite simply, is to love the girls. You love them, you accept them for who they are, you rejoice in their triumphs, and console them in their failures. That’s what being a camp counselor is all about, and why it’s different from being just a teacher. If you’re prepared to do these things, to work hard and to love, everything is going to be just fine. You are not alone. Everyone is working together for the benefit of these little girls, to teach them and help them become the best women they can be. If, in the process, we learn how to be our best self, then the magic of Nakanawa has worked.

I hope you now understand what I said in the introduction to this letter. The magic of Nakanawa will change you and touch your soul; embrace it, and I know you will find, like I did, that a little slice of heaven is located by a lake in Tennessee.

Best of luck! You are going to have a great summer!