With finals quickly approaching, I cannot get my mind off of summer break. No matter how hard I try to focus on my finals, I find myself staring out of my dorm window and dreaming about tanning on the beach or taking a drive down the causeway with my best friends. What will my perfect summer consist of?
My favorite pastime is hanging out on the beach while reading a good book. In my hometown, I am a seven minute drive from the most beautiful beaches in Florida. When I’m not working during the summer and the weather is perfect, you know where to find me at least three days a week. I enjoy reading the works of Stephen King and Malcolm Gladwell. I’ve been so lucky to be born and raised in a place that takes such great care of its beaches and I love to take advantage of that. The beach is my sanctuary, and my time there is vital to me because I, like most of us, don’t get a lot of free time during the school year. This time on the beach by myself allows me to relax and do things that truly make me happy like reading and swimming.
My perfect summer also includes me earning a ton of cash. I’ve had the same summer job as a pizza delivery driver for four years. I love collaborating with my coworkers and my managers. A good thing about being such a bubbly, extroverted person is that I make good tips throughout the week. I pay for my sorority dues and all the fun things I do during the school year by myself, so I like to have a nice cushion of cash to fall back on during the year. For my perfect summer, I would want to work 35+ hours a week, mostly over the weekends. The weekend is the worst possible time to go to the beach in my town because it gets crowded which makes it challenging to find parking. I would prefer to work during this time.
Like most young adults I absolutely love to travel. My father works overseas and I enjoy visiting him and experiencing new cultures and places. My most recent trip was two years ago when I visited my dad in Romania. I immediately fell in love with the country and its people. I would love nothing more than to visit Romania again, but traveling to new countries is just as exciting. Right now my dad is in Kuwait and I would love to visit there. I’ve only been to one Middle Eastern country, so visiting another would be an eye-opening experience. My perfect summer would include a week-long vacation to a new destination whether that is where my dad is or if my family decides to take a trip elsewhere.
Finally, my perfect summer will allow me to have plenty of time with my best friends from home; Tabitha, Amber, and Noah have been there for me all throughout high school and to this point in college. I was the only one in my friend group that went away for college, so it’s always a treat when I get to see them. Noah’s family moved away from my hometown his senior year so him and I only have a couple days during the summer that we can hang out, and I want to do that as much as possible. Basically any time off I have I want to spend with these three people. Though I have many friends at school, there is something special about your high school friend group that can never be replaced.