It’s Sunday night, and I’m staring, yet again, at a blank Word document and an open backpack on the floor. It seems these exhausting days of homework and extracurricular activities will never end! The only thing anyone is talking about at school is final exams, a three-day slew of subject testing that I can hardly think about at the moment. The weather outside is a tease; it’s nearly 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) most days, and the lawns at home and at school smell of freshly cut grass, sunshine, and summer.

    While summer won’t be here for about another month, it can never hurt to start dreaming about what those three months of beautiful warm weather may hold. Summer camps, traveling, parties, there will be time for it all! I’ve been so impatient for summer vacation that I’ve had weeks of it planned out since the freezing days of January!

    In June, I’ll most likely attend several graduation parties, or “grad parties.” Grad parties are held by high school seniors, or better yet, soon-to-be college freshmen; filled with food, music, and great friends, grad parties celebrate the closing of one chapter and the beginning of a new one in the life of a graduating senior. For the remaining weeks of June, I’ll catch up on all the sleep I missed throughout the school year and finally be reunited with friends that I rarely got to spend time with when we were all busy with school. We’ll spend a day at an amusement park, take a train down to Philadelphia or hang out at the mall and catch a movie. A favorite singer of mine, Max Schneider, will be having a concert in Philadelphia that I absolutely cannot wait to attend with some close friends.

    July will start off with a bang — literally, as the Fourth of July, or Independence Day, is celebrated in the United States, commemorating the separation of the 13 original colonies from the United Kingdom. There will be red-white-and-blue everything, backyard barbecue parties and fireworks on top of fireworks! However, I won’t be there to celebrate this year. I’ll be traveling to France with a few other teens and a team leader for a two-week-long summer camp promoting international peace and cultural appreciation. Following my return from what I know will be an amazing trip in the country of love and excellent food, I’ll volunteer for a few weeks at summer camps and with local organizations.

    Then comes August — the final month of freedom before I begin school as a 10th grader (time really flies!). My family is planning on taking a cruise from Seattle to Alaska with some close family friends. I’ve never been on a cruise before — hopefully I won’t get too seasick to enjoy it! Then, my brother will return to college. I’ll have to get ready for school, too; I’ll finish all my summer work, purchase new notebooks and other supplies and enjoy the last sweet days of vacation with my friends and family.

    I’m getting a little ahead of myself here, but just thinking about summer vacation makes me smile like a maniac. Ask any teenager — at least, any of my friends — and he or she will tell you that the best memories are always made in the summertime! The days free of stress from tests and homework, the absence of rain and chilly weather, the nights filled with sparklers and loud music and beach trips... There’s absolutely nothing like summer! Here’s to counting down the days until these dreams become a reality. In the meantime, have a fantastic week and a happy Mothers’ Day, dear readers!