There is nothing more difficult, yet rewarding, than working with kids. For the past three summers I have been a camp counselor at Camp JCC (Jewish Community Center) in Rockville, Maryland, and I have learned a lot about children through my experiences there. Here is some advice for anyone interested in becoming a camp counselor:

1. Prepare to be called a plethora of names. I worked with first graders, and a lot of them still have trouble pronouncing what we think of as simple words. I was repeatedly called Header and Heaver throughout the summer because they had trouble with the “th” in my name. Some kids called me Feather because they thought it was funny too. One of our CITs, or Counselors in Training, was even called Mashed Potato Man! So be ready for a few new nicknames to surface.
2. Bring a notebook and pen to camp. As mentioned before, kids say the funniest things. Keeping track of all the silly things that they say and do throughout the summer is impossible, so a fun idea is to write down everything that happens in a notebook! Reading over all the memories will definitely make you smile.
3. Save everything that your campers make for you. Your kids will come to camp with things that they made just for you. Bring them all home and put them in a box to remember your wonderful kids forever! One of my campers made popsicle stick superheroes that we put in the classroom’s freezer so that it would be protected from evil. It sounds silly, but saving even the smallest piece of art can make any child feel special.
4. Be loud and crazy! The point of summer camp is to have fun, right? A camp counselor who comes to camp spirited and excited every day can really make a difference for a child’s summer camp experience. It can be tough at times, but putting on a huge smile once you walk into camp will make the summer much more fun for you and your kids.
5. Do not be afraid to discipline your campers. There is always at least one “trouble camper” in each group. Therefore, it is important to remember that making a child sit out on an activity or giving them a serious talk may be necessary at some point in the summer. A great camp counselor knows how to balance fun and discipline.
6. Kids are impressionable. Your campers look up to you. They think that their camp counselor is the greatest person on the planet, a real life superhero, someone that they can come to with any problem. You must remember this before you act because anything you do or say, they will most likely copy at some point. Be a positive role model for your campers to look up to as they learn and grow.
7. Enjoy every minute you have with your campers. The summer goes by so fast, and you will meet some amazing kids that will be tough to say goodbye to. You may never see them again once camp ends! Make sure you appreciate each and every moment that you have with them.

My co-counselors, campers, and I sitting in a circle during our weekly song session.

I will be forever grateful that I was able to be a counselor at Camp JCC. Over the years, I have met some amazing children that I know will change the world in their own ways. I can only hope that I was able to make a difference in their worlds by being their camp counselor.

~Heather Brody

Have you ever “Facebook stalked” someone? I have a feeling that your answer is yes. Mine is too so do not feel embarrassed! We have all Facebook stalked someone, and we have all used this term. But do we really understand what we are saying when we say, “Facebook stalking?”

Facebook stalking refers to looking at someone else’s Facebook profile and pictures excessively. When someone wants to see their friend’s prom pictures, they Facebook stalk her. When someone wants to see how two of their friends know each other, they Facebook stalk them. It is a way for someone to find out more information about his or her Facebook friends. Most people do not see this term as harmful and often use it jokingly. This is unfortunate, because stalking is not a joke.

According to loveisrespect.org, a website created as a safe space for teenagers to find information about dating violence, “you are being stalked when a person repeatedly watches, follows, or harasses you, making you feel afraid or unsafe… A stalker can be someone you know, a past boyfriend or girlfriend, or a stranger.” The legal definition of a stalker varies from state to state, but the definition presented by loveisrespect.org can help teens to understand what stalking generally is.

As you can see, stalking is serious. It is a form of abuse and should not be condoned by society through the use of popular new lingo. By turning stalking into a joke, we are creating a world where stalking is not taken as seriously as it should be. We are even changing our views on cyber stalking with this new term. According to the Oxford Dictionary, cyber stalking is “the repeated use of electronic communications to harass or frighten someone, for example by sending threatening e-mails.” Is Facebook stalking a form of cyber stalking? If so, why do we see it as funny? Should we be more concerned when someone says that they “Facebook stalked” someone else?

The homepage of a site that causes more harm than many realize.

I do not know the answer to these questions. However, what I do believe is that people should try to decrease their usage of this term. Instead of making stalking seem like a joke, we should try to understand the realities of stalking. We should try to teach others about this form of abuse, one that leads to 76% of women who are stalked by their intimate partners being eventually killed by their intimate partners. We should try to make this world a better, safer, more understanding place for victims of stalking. How is someone supposed to get help if everyone else thinks that his or her situation is just a joke?

It is not a joke.

Let’s stop making it one.

~Heather Brody

Your friends won’t stop singing the same songs over and over again. Your Facebook newsfeed is filled with links and statuses about some animated snowman. That’s right, Disney came out with a new movie. I am a huge Disney fan, so once I heard about their newest animated film, Frozen, which was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, I just HAD to see it! However, once the movie ended and the lights turned on, I felt… disappointed. Now, hear me out! I do not want to upset anyone! Like I said, I love Disney. However, I felt that Frozen did not live up to all the hype that had been generated around it.

First of all, I thought the movie was very rushed. The story and characters need time to grow and develop! I understand that it is a movie and it is supposed to be relatively short, but I felt like other Disney movies were less rushed than Frozen was.

I also felt like some characters should have had larger roles.

• First, I thought the movie should have focused more on Elsa than Anna. Anna didn’t really do anything except find her sister and fall in love with some guy! It would have been more interesting to see Elsa learning to control her powers and empower herself.
• Next, there were the trolls, who were funny, adorable, and barely in the movie. The trolls are the only characters in the movie who understand Elsa’s powers and could have helped her control them. I felt like making the trolls such minor characters was definitely a missed opportunity.
• Finally, the villain, Hans, who Anna falls in love with in one night, was a bit disappointing. We discover that he is evil only at the end of the movie (which really wasn’t that surprising), so he really does not even have a chance to do much evil! I felt like he should have been more prominent in the movie, being the evil villain.

My last note is about the animation. I did not notice this personally, but I have heard people complain that the animation was sloppy at some points. One thing I love about Disney is the attention to detail that is shown in each film. In Disney’s Brave, the animators worked so hard just to make Merida’s hair perfect! There should have been an equal amount of effort put into Frozen’s animation; every detail should be perfect. An animated movie should not have problems with the actual animation.

Hopefully I haven’t made anyone too angry… There were aspects of the movie that I really liked, so I want to touch on that as well.

• First of all, I loved Elsa’s character. She was awesome, not only because of her ice powers, but also because she was a strong, independent woman who cared for her family and kingdom so much that she hid her true self in order to protect them. I also loved how she told Anna that she couldn’t marry a man that she just met the same night. Thank you, Disney!
• Next, while there were some sloppy animation errors, there were parts in the animation that really impressed me, like the gorgeous ice castle that Elsa creates. You could see the detail in each icicle, which really showed how much effort was put into creating the ice castle.
• Also, while some songs were a bit forgettable, I loved the song “Let It Go.” Idina Menzel, who plays Elsa, has such a beautiful voice and the song was very catchy and empowering. It was so great to see Elsa letting go and finally feeling free.
• Finally, there were moments in Frozen that were actually pretty funny. I really appreciated those bits of humor sprinkled throughout the movie, especially with Olaf the talking snowman.

So, those were my thoughts on Disney’s Frozen! I will forever be a Disney lover, and cannot wait for what movies they will create in the future.