Oracle Online

O: What changed?

MB: It’s hard to say. It just started feeling so pure. I think camping can be almost a spiritual experience ... like the way the world could be without people and societies. Seeing the stars and the lakes and everything, it really puts things into perspective, like how pointless most of my worries are. It shows me how I’m completely at the whims of the earth.

O: Do you get the same experience when you’re working as a counselor?

MB: I don’t. Well, sometimes I guess. It’s still there, but having kids around distracts me from all that. It’s hard to be philosophical when kids are daring each other to touch fire and cussing at each other. But I would hope that the experience allows the kids to appreciate nature. I think it probably changes from kid to kid.

O: Do you enjoy being a counselor?

MB:I love it. Usually. It’s the best and the worst job. I mean, on one hand I’m getting paid to go swimming and camping and horseback riding with a bunch of cool kids č on a good week. But on the other hand there’s little free time and little privacy. It’s a high-stress job, and the kids bicker and have issues.

O: How old are the kids you work with?

MB: Last year I got mostly 11ą15 year olds, and the year before that, my first year, I got mostly 8ą12 year olds. The oldest kids are cool because they’re beginning to get their own opinions and they’re becoming very independent. They aren’t afraid to tell people off and think for themselves. The young ones are awesome because they worship the ground you walk on, and we can make them think that I’m 30 years old, or that one of the counselors is a pro soccer player or raised by wolves or something.

O: That sounds like a lot of fun. Is it rewarding for you?

MB: I wish I could do it year-round. I want to be a teacher, so that’s kinda the same vein. But there are some tough judgment calls. They are always getting hurt and doing weird things. Like, there’s ditch-weed at camp, so the older campers always pick it and I can never decide whether to stop them or not.

O: Do they try to smoke it?

MB: No, they never do. When I do let them pick it, I make sure they know you can’t smoke it. Once there was a kid who started lecturing all of the other kids about how you can’t smoke ditch-weed, and described in detail how it was different from real weed. He said that ditch-weed will only get you a headache. I really didn’t know what to say. Every once in awhile, camp is hilarious.