Tumblr seems to be acting up and not publishing scheduled posts. Hopefully they’ll get it worked out soon because I won’t be able to manually post after this week. I’ll still make confessions but they might not be updated daily. 

Starting Sunday we’re switching to a new schedule. We’ll publish twice a day instead of three times and Wondering Wednesdays will now be posted in the forum and possibly on facebook.

Other new things include an email account at summercampconfessions@gmail.com and the facebook page here. Please like us and share to your heart’s content! Other confessions will continue to be posted in albums of a hundred and will then be updated by fifties. 

We’re trying to stay as anonymous as possible because we all want to have futures and we extend that courtesy to you as well. So we won’t credit your confession unless you expressly ask us to (no one has so far). As a huge supporter of camping and the outdoors, we don’t want any of these confessions to reflect poorly on the organizations that made us stronger people so we won’t be naming any specific camps either, unless they are submitted with approval by an official representative. We’ve been sticking to general camp topics to hopefully widen our appeal but we are supportive of specific types of camps and the confessions that come with them. Feel free to submit whatever.

We will accept all submissions but we will choose what to post to avoid repetition and issues with any of the concerns above. As far as submissions for confessions- if you don’t see your exact submission there are several possibilities:

1) it is really similar to a confession that has already been written*

2) it’s in the inbox, or in organizing/editing to go to the queue, or in the queue all of which varies in length at any given time**

3) we tweaked it a bit to make it more general

4) we tweaked it a bit to make it more of a confession and less of a moment/expression/statement thingy.

5) your submission was very obviously anti-camper or something we considered in bad taste. If you’re curious, feel free to message us and as but we don’t veto things very often.

6) look at reason #1. Then go back through the archives and I bet it’s one of the early ones. 

Another reminder- Most importantly, it shouldn’t matter what camp(s) I specifically have attended (…have worked for, will attend, will work for, will send my progeny to) because the confessions come from thousands of people and are associated to several camps.

*If your submission is about showers, there is a very good chance it is too similar to others. If your submission is about how camp is better than the rest of the world, there is a very good chance it is too similar to others. If your submission is about how camp has greatly impacted who you are as a person, there is a very good chance that it is too similar to others. Please be more specific if you feel your confession is unique and please scroll through the archive before submitting it.

** Please refer to the screen shot in March. The inbox can be HUGE and doesn’t even show the in editing confessions.

We will be on a break. I’m going camping with my family today and will return Saturday and fill the queue for the summer. There won’t be any new confessions starting today but look at this as a time to explore the archives! When I get back I will begin a lot of work on the site, including adding a forum and possibly a reduced publication rotation for the summer. 

happy hiking,

Camp Confessions

This is the updated list we’ve complied about who is/may be still hiring. Some camps have been added, some positions have been filled. Google is a great friend. If you can find the camp’s site there is usually a ‘contact us’ section that might be helpful. Best of luck.

• most scout camps in California
• Mar-Lu-Ridge, a Lutheran camp in Jefferson, Maryland
• URJ Crane Lake Camp in West Stockbridge, MA possibly
• URJ Camp George in Parry Sound, Ontario definitely
• Fernwood Cove might still need female staff
• Camp Wilson, a YMCA camp in Ohio is still hiring
• YMCA Camp Letts in Mayo, MD may still be hiring
• CYO Camp Rancho Framasa in Nashville, Indiana is still hiring.
• Camp Hanes YMCA in King, NC
• Camp Whispering Pines in Tucson, Arizona is still hiring! We are looking for female counselors over the age of 21
• YMCA Camp Piomingo in Kentucky still has a few positions open. Really need 2 more Equestrian counselors
• Camp Ottari in Hiwasse, Virginia is hiring staff for various program areas. Scouting experience is a major plus, but not required. Both females and males may apply, 16+. :)
• Camp Firewood is still looking for CITs.
• NeSoDak Bible Camp in South Dakota is still hiring. 
• Don’t forget that the ACA is the mother of all information in the camp world.

Anonymous asked: Can I let my campers know that I'm gay?

I think the answer to this depends heavily on context and experience. Some things to consider:

1. Do some digging into your staff and organization’s opinions. Are there people on staff with you who already know you’re gay? Will it jeopardize your job? Are you prepared to handle that possibility? Ultimately, some camps have rules about relationships of all natures and that they are ALL supposed to be hidden from campers. If this is the case, it might not be that difficult for you because the topic isn’t discussed*.
2. What kind of camp you work at/for- some religious camps would not be ok with an out counselor, others might be fine with that honesty. If you work in an area of the country that is a little more open, you might be ok. If you work at a camp that has a history of gay staff you’re probably ok. Even the program can be a factor because some parents could get upset about sharing a cabin/tent/living space with their child.
3. How you tell people: It might not be the best to just blurt it out at drop off day right off the bat. On the other hand, if you are naturally very open about your sexuality or exhibit personality traits** that might raise questions, honesty might be comforting. If you decide to tell your campers, I would do so in a careful manner and be sure to consider their age. 
4. Answer camper questions honestly to the best of your ability, in a manner that best fits the situation. I think this is always something to strive for as a counselor on ANY topic, not just sexuality. Some of my best conversations have occurred because a staff member or a camper was genuinely interested in my experience. If a camper asks about your sexuality or significant other, think and then speak.

I hope that this helps and I hope that there might be some other people with experience who might provide specifics. 

*We all know that things that are considered “off limits” or inappropriate still get discussed and that when they do, it can be very meaningful. I think openness and a focus on what the camper is truly asking is the best method for these conversations.

**I do not condone judgements based on assumptions however, other people make them. Currently there is a lot of turmoil and people feel very strongly about issues of sexuality and as always, stereotypes might play against you. 

This is something I’ve been thinking about over the last month or so, how can Camp Confessions be the very best resource possible? I’m honored that so many people have been asking questions lately. Truthfully, the majority have been answered by followers, not myself. I’ve simply been collecting submitted answers and publishing the information. It occurred to me that it might be simpler to cut out the middle man and make some kind of forum.

I have two weeks off in May and I am willing to investigate forum hosting to find the best set up for this community IF THERE IS ENOUGH INTEREST. I think it could be a faster way to share tips and job information instead of submitting through the general tumblr. There are forums out in the interwebz that already exist and function in a similar manner but I’m curious to see if there would be sufficient interest from this specific community to warrant such an expansion. We broke 2000 followers last week and we continue to gain members everyday, not including the non tumblr folks who participate on a regular basis. That’s a lot of experience and a lot of connections that are available. 

Let us how you feel about a forum by a) answering this post, b) reblogging with an extended answer, or c) submitting an opinion via ask.

Anonymous asked: My camp does have a social media policy as well. The campers and staff both have to sign social media contracts. As a counsellor, we are not allowed to post anything offensive/inappropriate at ANY time of the year, and we can be asked to remove things from our personal sites. We are also not allowed to post any pictures of campers without their consent. We are allowed to add campers to Facebook, but there are warnings about stalking etc because it has happened before.

In response to the social networking question- At the camp I work at, I am not allowed to friend campers on any kind of social networking site, nor am I allowed to post pictures on social networking sites that have campers in them. I can keep in touch with campers through private e-mails, but in that case I just can’t let my bosses know (It’s basically like the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell of keeping in touch with campers)- person b

My old camp just asked we use judgment. If we were to list camp as our employer and have camper friends our profiles had to be 100% camp appropriate (church run camp) As far as being friends w/ campers they allowed it. Almost all of the staff were former campers, so most of us were already friends with campers prior to each summer/ friends outside of camp as well. My new camp has us set up profiles our name with the camps name just for camper friendships- person c

At my camp we are told that if we do accept the request, it is almost like becoming a counselor year round. You are trying to set a good example to these kids. So I personally watch what I post and make use the privacy settings to exclude them from seeing parts of my profile- person d

reducebadthoughts asked: This goes out to all the counselors out there - Do you let campers friend you on facebook - does your camp have a policy about social media? Opinions

The camps I’ve worked at have all developed policies about these things recently. Last year I was told that putting new pictures up with campers was frowned upon but we didn’t have to take down old picture from past years. Our execs were ok with us putting up other pictures that only had staff so occasionally we would crop campers out of pictures or post things that we did on weekends sans kids. 

As far as friending them, that was left up to us. I have my settings to super private and fairly clean photos(thanks to panhel rules) and if I did friend campers I set them on a restricted status. Personally, I only friended a few returners who were closer to CIT status or that I knew would be on staff soon. Some of our staff never friend campers, others are pretty choosy. 

Other interpretations and or rules?

dragonwolves asked: I was told at a conference for camping professionals that if you have any interest in pursuing camp as a full time career (yes you can do that!) That you should try to gain experience at a few different camps. It makes you a more flexible staff plus you network more and gain different types of skillsets.

This sounds fairly accurate. I would think that variety between the camps would help to round out an individual. Personally, I’m excited about working at a conference center with a day camp routine instead of the extremely remote sleep-away camp I grew up at. New experiences challenge us and hopefully a new person can bring insight to the table in a give and take relationship.