[When it all goes to hell]
Ever see a kid grow up? Do you know how much difference one year can make for a 12 year old? I do.
Working at a summer camp you realize how fast kids really grow up and how much they can change in a short amount of time. Last year was the first year I really worked for a camp. I tell ya, there were quite a few problems, but for the most part it was great.
I got to know 140 of the greatest people on the planet. Some of them I wanted to strangle daily, but I would still give my life in an instant for any of them. This year, a lot of the kids came back from last year and I was both suprised and saddened by the changes that they went through in the year they had been gone.
First of all, there is one girl, named Katie. She was the most energetic little girl I had ever seen last year and at the beginning of the summer I was thinking to myself "We have quite a handful this year." She turned out to be one of the best campers I would ever know. So this year when she was in my group again I was excited thinking that it would be another great summer with her. I was wrong. In one year, she had turned into a sweet little girl into a girl on the verge of begging for sex. She acts like a porn star and has gotten into more than one fight over boys. Know what the worst part is? She's 9 years old. NINE. How the fuck does that kind of transformation happen to a nine year old?
Second, there is another kid in my group, named Bryce. He was, like Katie, relatively well behaved and very energetic. Now, though he's mopey all the time and disrespectful toward everyone, as well as very whiney. Someone told me that his brother molested him.
Another girl at the camp, Jess, was the best kid I could know last year. She's the worst one in camp though. Today her group went up north to a science center and went for a hike on some trails. She crouched down for a rest. Now this wouldn't be so bad, but she likes to wear short shorts. On top of this, she didn't wear any panties, so just about everyone saw just about everything. Added to that, she's going to a hotel room with her "friend" tonight. Who brings a 13 year old to a hotel on a Tuesday night for one night?
I just don't know anymore. I know that phrase is the most commonly used one in this blog, but God dammit I'm pissed off. Boss Lady Elaine says that I can't do anything to try to intervene or I will lose my job. I can't take this. I mean, how does this happen? These are just the three stories I heard today alone. Three kids, all of which were good kids no more than a year ago, and now they're all jumping into a handbasket.
What is someone supposed to do?