Junior Alli Schwartz set down her pencil and breathed a sigh of relief—she had two more weeks to go before the school year was done.

“I can’t believe that the stress of this year is almost over,” Schwartz said.

Summer vacation is a great time for students to enjoy the outdoors and spend time with friends and family. You can take a deep breath and let the worries and trials of school fall in the past. Some people imagine the scene from High School Musical, where the bell rings, students throw their papers in the air, run out of the school, and do a group dance. Others, however, might feel some sadness leaving the school behind when they graduate.

“This summer, I plan on spending as much time with my friends as I possibly can,” senior Lizzie Wetmore said. “Most of my friends are going to different colleges, so I’m going to make the most of the time we have together and go on lots of adventures while we still can.”

A good way to keep busy during the summer season is to create some goals, even if it is just to get outside more often. A lot of people make a summer bucket list for family and friends with fun activities they want to check off before the end of summer.  These things can include campfires, movie nights, road trips, game nights, and more.

“I’m going to be working a lot, going on college visits, tanning, and writing application essays,” junior Carolyn Mole explained. “I’ll also be watching a lot of Criminal Minds.”

Although people are getting vaccinated, this summer will still be a little different. For example, going to the pool is going to be more cautious. Only a certain amount of people will be allowed in at the same time if pools are open at all. After working out, which is a common summer activity, all the equipment that has been touched needs to be sanitized.

“I want to start working out and stretching more, so I can practice better TaeKwonDo technique,” junior Jack Mura said.

Summer is the perfect time to work on perfecting certain activities. Health, especially, is a very important part of life, both physically and mentally. 

“I want to go to the gym and try to eat healthier this summer,” junior Emily Gierczynski said. 

Summer is also all about making memories. Whether it’s a road trip or trying new things, students look forward to experiencing life before adulthood. 

“I want to spend the summer with my best friends and make a lot of memories before college,” senior Katie Marangoni said.

Spending time with family over the summer is important as well. 

“My goals for this summer would be to get outside more and do more fun activities since I couldn’t last year,” junior Ethan Vitanza said. “I also want to spend more time with my grandparents.”

We all have something to look forward to this summer. Creating goals is important and key to having an amazing few months before the next school year. So this summer. try to forget about the things that stress you out, do more of the activities you like, and spend more time with the people you love.