During the past five days, I was a Leadership Intern for Camp Invention, responsible for rising third graders at my elementary school alma mater. Camp Invention is an interactive science camp for elementary-aged students who visit five modules and use creativity and teamwork to solve problems. As a Leadership Intern, I traveled with and supervised these children during the different activities ensuring safety and fun.

I could have been paid as an LI, but I made the conscious decision not to be compensated for my service. Make no mistake, camp counseling is work. Standing on my feet for an entire day, roaming the cafeteria, catching up to kids in the hallway, and racing kids across the field at recess is certainly tiring.

At the beginning of the week, the majority of my third graders did not know each other. The kids were thrust into an environment and had to work well as a group, working on skills such as problem-solving, sportsmanship, and perseverance.

One of the joys of being a camp counselor is observing the interactions that take place throughout the week. There are highs, like watching students praise each other for their ideas and hiccups like arguing over the rules of “blob tag,” a version of tag (why did this not exist when I was their age?) in which the person who is considered “it” tags others to form a “blob” of children who are all “it.”

The week was an education for them as it was for me.

I had to practice patience, understanding, and being observant. It was amazing how much I could relate to these kids even though there is at least an eight-year difference in age. I was definitely transported back to my childhood in the midst of it all.

Serving my community eliminated money as a motivator, and getting out of bed at 6:45 a.m. for five days was well worth it to continue seeing these kids and reliving my childhood memories at Wolftrap Elementary along with other LIs I knew from my days there. I revisited classrooms, the cafeteria I ate lunch in, and the playground where the annual field day was held.

Nostalgia does not come in ebbs and flows. I have begun to get hit with waves (or, to pay homage to horrendous SyFy movies, Sharknados) of nostalgia as senior year approaches.

The anticipation for senior year is mounting almost as much as the excitement was for the royal baby, minus the camping out two weeks in front of the school anxiously waiting for the moment to arrive. But, this camp week was a life lesson to enjoy the times of my youth, although it seemed to have been ages ago.

I cannot wait for this year, but I also appreciate the waves of nostalgia that are crashing ashore. I would not be able to say this without the opportunity that service at Camp Invention has provided me.