This week, we've gathered yet another reason why women always choose the bear.
While deep-cleaning her room, TikToker Croissant Woman uncovered a letter, and a terrible memory, from the summer of 2022 when she was still working as a camp counselor. At that time, she received a letter from one of her camper's dads, asking her to be his "friend."
The camp, rather smartly, had a rule for all campers and counselors to appear at the camp under an assumed name, to avoid campers and counselors keeping up with each other on social media, which can inappropriately blur lines.
Keeping it real, Croissant Woman began the video:
"I deep-cleaned a little too hard, found something I was told to never share on social media, and so obviously, I'm going to share it with you now [three years later]."
While at camp, a letter was sent to the TikToker, which she assumed would be complimentary in nature.
"The parents would come with the children sometimes when the schools would come. And I guess one of the parents sent the camp a letter for me."
"We thought it was gonna be like a compliment letter because I spent three days with that group. And we had lots of fun."
"But it turned out to be...the most terrible thing I've ever read. So, that's nice."
Croissant Woman began to read the letter, which seemed odd but nice at first.
"This is it. It says, 'Dear [me]. This is [the child's father]. I wanted to let you know that my son had a wonderful time at camp with you as the counselor.'"
"'Personally, I did not go to camp when I was young, so I did not know what to expect. Although having you as a counselor made the experience quite special.'"
"'I think you're a beautiful person...both in appearance and spirit. You seem to have this positivity that affects the people around you.'"
"So far, so good. Kind of weird, but I'm thinking this is a nice letter."
"Then we get a little bit crazy."
But when the TikToker went back to reading the letter, the father made a concerning request.
"'Just before leaving camp, there was something you said that compels me to write to you. You said, 'Have a nice life'.'"
"'In my experience, when people say this, they usually mean, 'I would love to be your friend, but now you're leaving, and we may never see each other again, so have a nice life'.'"
"'I could be wrong, but I'm hoping that I'm right. Because I would love to be your friend. I think my life would definitely be nicer with you being a part of it.'"
"'You told me that your job as a counselor does not allow you to reveal your real name for the security of the children you're charged to take care of...I may be a child at heart, but that world is not meant to protect me.'"
"'So would you please make me happy by emailing me at this email? [Gives email.] Tell me your real name and how I may stay in contact with you.'"
"'Sincerely wanting your friendship,' and he signed it, by hand."
The TikToker disclosed that the camp was aware of the contents of the letter, and a report had been filed, but nothing else had been done about the letter, as far as she was aware.
They'd also demanded that she not post anything about it on social media since she already had a substantial following at the time of being a camp counselor, but since it had been three years and she'd uncovered the letter while decluttering, it seemed like an appropriate time to post.
You can watch the video here:
Some were uncomfortable with the man's mental gymnastics and questioned his interpretation of "Have a nice life."
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@croissantwoman/TikTok
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@croissantwoman/TikTok
@croissantwoman/TikTok
Others were chilled by the letter and saw this as further confirmation for why women are so wary of strange men.
@croissantwoman/TikTok
@croissantwoman/TikTok
@croissantwoman/TikTok
@croissantwoman/TikTok
@croissantwoman/TikTok
@croissantwoman/TikTok
@croissantwoman/TikTok
@croissantwoman/TikTok
There are situations where we might meet someone who we would love to stay in touch with, even if we never expected to find a lasting connection in that place, like at summer camp. But an adult reaching out to a counselor they don't even know is alarming.
Not only had the dad taken a kind gesture and twisted it into something that was meaningful for himself, but he'd expected a stranger to expose her real identity, which could jeopardize her safety and her job.
"Making him happy" simply wasn't a good enough reason for that—in fact, it was reason to do the exact opposite.
