The worst feeling in the world (besides falling down packed bleachers) is that "night-before-the-first-day-of-school dread." It's that feeling you get when you realize that you forgot everything you learned the previous school year, and you know that you have just wasted three months of precious summer at the pool, with the occasional trip to the movies. This year, when Aug. 31 rolls around, head back to school knowing that you made the most of your summer, while still having a good time.
1. Attend a summer program
Many colleges offer summer programs in specific areas of interest for high school sophomores and juniors. You can study and explore everything from film production to neuroscience in an informal, low-stress environment that will help prepare you for college. Some of the nation's most well-known programs are held at Harvard and Johns Hopkins universities, but if staying local is your only option, Gettysburg and Lebanon Valley also offer such programs.
2. Take a trip with friends
It's every teen's dream to pile in the Volkswagen with three or four best friends and head to the beach for the week. A trip away with friends will be one of the most memorable experiences of your life, and it will also teach you a lot about taking care of yourself for a week. Even a day trip to Lancaster to hunt for antique jewelry and the county's best local strawberries at a farmer's market can do the trick. Getting away for just a day can be a great cultural experience.
3. Review those French notes
While it might not seem like the most interesting thing to do during summer vacation, reviewing your notes will prove to be invaluable. Three months is a long time for a brain not to think about verb conjugations or calculus derivatives, which will make it all the harder to recall that information in the first week of school. Just imagine how good you will feel when you don't have to struggle through the first week of school clearing those cobwebs out of your head.
4. Puddle Hop
Have fun! You should definitely work on academic endeavors and vacations, but you shouldn't forget to have some simple, juvenile fun. Puddle hop on a rainy afternoon, lie in the park and stargaze, or read a book under a tree in your backyard. "The Great Gatsby" and "The Catcher in the Rye" make for excellent reading that might even be on your summer reading list.
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