6:30A.M.: The incessant buzzing coming from your alarm clock wakes you from your slumber as you realize what the day has in store. You check your phone for any missed notifications, but you got less than five hours of sleep, so there isn't anything new.
6:45A.M.: You finally have the strength to stop hibernating and make an effort to look presentable, just to get sweaty. You wipe away the eye crusts, put on extra deodorant, get out your staff shirt, and you're on your way!
7:15A.M.: After rushing out of the house, you pick up your co-counselors and cruise down the highway, attempting to get there early to avoid the clock-in line, and get a spot in the staff parking lot before the CITs (counselors-in-training) take them all.
8:00A.M.: The camp directors stand on stage droning on and on about "never leaving a kid alone," "always counting the number of kids present," and more common sense facts. You stand there sipping on your extra-large Dunkin Donuts iced coffee attempting to pay attention and not start snoring.
9:00A.M.: You run up to the buses after being shouted out by the assistant directors, dance a little to today's most overplayed pop music, sing along with Elsa to "Let It Go," and answer the same question 100 times: "What are we doing today?"
11:30A.M.: Time for the first swim of the day, which means the campers will be incredibly hyper and cannot change themselves, so you do it for them. Not just bathing suits, but goggles, swim shoes, towels, and sometimes the earplugs. You remind yourself to be thankful that your group didn't have first period swim. That itself deserves a $500 raise. You stand in the 3-foot deep pool filled with urine imagining what it would be like to be in a pool not filled with urine and screaming children splashing water in your face every time you finish wiping your sunglasses from the previous splash.
12:30P.M.: Welcome to Hell, also known as lunch time. The kids all rush to the table after fighting over who is first in line to walk to the table, and either take two bites and then run off to play or eat a 45 minute gourmet meal, constantly asking for more food. You stand there serving the campers and thinking, "I am not a waiter." You never even get a chance to sit down and eat your own plate of frozen "chicken" nuggets and French fries with a side of Jell-O.
2:00P.M.: Basically at this point, you've been up for 7.5 hours. You're exhausted, sweaty, dehydrated, and have had every possible conversation with your co-counselors and group leader as possible. Magically, however, the kids have more energy than ever before. You wonder how you'll do this all over again tomorrow.
3:00P.M.: You're dead, you're co-counselors are dead, and the 50-year old group leader has so many sweat stains on his shirt that you would think he fell in the pool. You all have to get the kids in line to walk to the daily show. Ranging from a trivia contest to a talent show, you would think this is the time to take it easy since head staff is leading the show, but no. Division leaders are out for blood and the second you shut your eyes, you're caught red-handed. You think to yourself, "You're almost done."
4:00P.M.: Back to the bunks you go as you are attacked by sweaty, stinky, and dirty campers grabbing at the box of ice pops you are holding captive. You ask, "What color would you like," and before you know it, the box is ripped, your job is done, and the war has begun.
4:15P.M.: HURRAY! You made it! You wave goodbye to the campers as the buses pull away, and finally... You are done (until the next morning)! The sense of relief overpowers you. You celebrate your success, jump up and down, and then run to the parking lot as fast as possible.
5:00P.M.: At last, you are home. You take a long shower to make sure all of the sweat, dirt, and urine-chlorine mixture is off of your skin, and then collapse onto your bed for the night. A slumber well deserved.
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