Student Blog: The Most Important Summer Yet

It’s weird how the concept of summer changes as you move through adolescence. In elementary school, summer was an emblem of absolute freedom: no homework (the little I had in fourth grade seemed like a truckload), no obligations, and no teachers! 12 weeks to kick-back, enjoy summer camp, and do whatever I wanted was an annual godsend.

That is, until the boredom came. Realistically, by late August, I’d be more than ready to go back to school. Unstructured days became the bane of my existence, and the thing I most anticipated was being able to remember what day of the week it was.

Only my future August blog posts know if something similar will happen this summer, but I do know that these three months will be, relatively, the busiest they’ve ever been. As I enter my senior year of high school in September, this summer’s theme is C-O-L-L-E-G-E. And driving and blogging. But mostly college.

I’m working on my Common App essay weekly, practicing driving with my parents (my road test is on June 30 and I have 0 experience parallel parking), road-tripping to college tours, and seeing some Broadway shows. I’ll also be reading this summer – my English teacher recommended Matthew Desmond’s Poverty, by America, which will give me some more insight into the topic of my college essay.

But during this first week, I’ve started nearly none of that. In my first three days of summer, I binged the first season of Breaking Bad, walked to Tal Bagels twice, and saw The Thanksgiving Play on Broadway. I’ve allocated a few more days for myself, where I’m only doing what I want to do, and taking a break from my friends to truly embrace this time of, like my elementary-school self would say, rest. For most students my age, it probably doesn’t feel like that, but I’ve made it my mission this summer to try and find value in resting: taking refuge in the fact that I know I have the discipline to balance rest, academics, and activities. I’d encourage other students experiencing similar stressors this summer to do the same.

This week of rest has been even more helpful for me since I go to a boarding school in suburban New Jersey, so coming back to the city after a few weeks away can take a little bit of getting used to. I’ve gotten good at the change in scenery after going back and forth between the two homes for several years, but the required mental adjustment never really goes away.

Still, I want to keep myself busy as I move forward, and not fall into the aforementioned August slump. Summer really is a balancing act, almost more-so than the school year because of its impromptu nature, but I’m confident I can both enjoy it and use it to its fullest potential. I’ll keep you all updated.