I get to wear many hats. Some of the most important ones are when I get to devote myself to being husband and father. Those never really come off.
But for work the hard slide around. I suppose my main one is as a teacher. The one I’d like to wear more often is that of writer and creator. Then there is my camp hat. Of all my work hats it is the one that comes with the most feeling of community.
I’ve written before on how camp gets me in touch with staff from all over the world that thrive trying to help young people gain an appreciation of nature and of personal growth. What keeps me consistently coming back to this camp group is how all of us near the top take improving this camp so seriously.
After a normal workday those of us who are responsible for the running of camp got together from our various works and spent the last four hours going over the previous three weeks and all the cracks we discovered in order to make next time better. Some of this fault was with a system, and sometimes these faults were with us as individuals.
But in the telling and listening, we all did our best to put pride aside and try and say what needed to be said to make the next camp better. We sat in a room filled with respect for each other and tried our best to left each other up by critiquing what we made as a whole.
I am really trying to think of another workplace I’ve had where so many talented, opinionated people worked so cooperatively to create such a place. I know they are out there, but they can be rare to find.
At the end of every camp season I always feel so fortunate to be a part of such a community and am always eager to go back into camp settings.
People who believe that we can keep achieving more are hard to find.
Deadly Troubadour 