On Crazy Socks & 11 Year Olds

I think it was the first day of camp, we were getting ready to go play a camp-wide soccer game (the usual Sunday night activity) when she said it. Putting on these crazy colourful striped socks, she proclaimed that they did not have enough colour to suit her personality. Sophie (my co-counsellor) and I just looked at each other and laughed. This was going to be a good week of camp.

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We usually counsel the oldest girls in Cabin 4, aged 12/13. But this week, we were in Cabin 3 with the 11 year olds (and one 12 year old). And maybe it was just the specific girls we had (I don't think it was) , or maybe it was something in the air (more likely the bug spray), but I kind of think 11 year olds are the best age to counsel.

11 year old's don't care yet. They don't care if their hair is a disaster or if they wear their pj's to breakfast. They don't care about the boys sitting on the other side of the dining hall. They don't care if they didn't know you before camp, you're in their cabin so you're their friend.

They also don't 'try'. They don't try to be the smartest - if they know more than other campers they help & explain. They don't try to be funny - they're hilarious anyways. They don't try to be anything but themselves.

They like what they like and they don't like what they don't like. If horses are their thing? You can be sure that there will be a horse on everything crafty thing they make. Soccer or sports perhaps? You'll find them down in the field at every opportunity. They don't worry about liking what their friends like or what anyone tells them they should like.

11 year old's tell you how it is. They tell you when they're hungry/tired/done. They tell you when they like things and when they don't. They don't hold back for fear of being wrong/shy/silly.

But 11 year old's also listen. They don't sneak off after campfire back to the cabin to sleep or into the forest to play Beat the Beam. They don't mind lending a hand when needed or asked. They know who's in charge and they're willing to listen.

They wear crazy socks and impart honest truths without even meaning to. 

This cabin and that girl and those socks have stuck with me. As a counsellor, I'm suppose to be teaching them, but often they end up teaching me. I don't know if I fully understand the lesson yet, but I do know that crazy socks can only ever be a good thing. And 11 year olds have a lot to teach us 'adults', if only we're willing to learn (and show off our crazy socks!)

photo via sxc, graphics by me