Y Talk: Finding the Fun in Hard Work by Justin Rose

As many folks may already know, I have spent a number of my YMCA years as a Camp Director, but my current career path has taken me in another direction. I no longer get to spend my summers in gym shorts, sneakers and sunscreen. Instead, I spend a lot more time on the phone and staring at a computer screen.

I often think about how much fun I had in those summers as Camp Director. I especially remember how incredibly tired I would be after a week of camp. It was actually pretty amazing watching the counselors and I go all day, 12 or 14 hours straight as a non-stop, game playing, song singing, fire building, memory making machine. We loved every minute of it.

I often wondered what kept the counselors coming back year after year for such a tough summer job. I mean there had to be at least 10 better paying jobs that required a tenth of the effort it took to be a counselor, yet they all seemed to love working at camp. Not only did they love working at camp, they loved working hard at camp—the type of hard work that has you drenched in sweat before 8am and mentally prepared for anything from a homesick kid to broken arm.

I think there was a sense of satisfaction in knowing how hard we worked each week. There was a bond we had with each other that could only be like to going through boot camp for counselors. It’s hard to describe, but I know I still wanted more. More importantly, the CITs and counselors that come back each week want more too. They find the fun in the work. Not only are they finding the fun in the work, they are doing the work that matters most. Hard work turns into fun work when what you are doing makes a difference.

“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”

—Theodore Roosevelt

-by Justin Rose, Associate Executive Director​