Teen Talk

This Summer

By Mikayla Carroll

Something that dawned on me recently: while this year I wished my classmates and teachers a great summer, next year, I’ll wish them a great future and a great life, knowing full well I may never see them again.

This summer, I want to embrace the fact that it is possibly one of my last few summers at home, with all my friends. This also means I want to further make the transition from semi-independent high school student to fully independent, self-motivated, college student. Part of this means going after new opportunities on my own.

I’m currently working towards beginning dual enrollment classes, perusing some online courses, going after a job, and trying to get a head start on college applications. Achieving all of this on my own has brought out the self-driven part of me that wants to get on with her future as fast as possible.

I am well aware that senior year flies by, and I welcome this. However, while I want to hurry up and move out and get on with whatever lies ahead, a more nostalgic part of me wishes that senior year could last forever. I don’t want to leave the comforts of Wellington.

But then I snap out of it and decide that I don’t exactly want to rush through my senior year, but I can’t say that I never want it to end either. I want a senior year that keeps me busy, in a good way, so that the only reason it passed me by so quickly is because I was too busy enjoying it.

Yet, before I even get there, I have to get through a summer where I have less time to be as lazy as I may have been in the past. I recently started touring universities, working on bettering my SAT and ACT scores, and starting summer classes.

If there is anything I hope to avoid, it’s making my summer anything less than memorable. That is why, while all this college prep is necessary, I don’t want it to be the only thing consuming my time.

One reason I have been able to prevent falling victim to boredom so far is for one reason: my car!

Summer plus a driver’s license plus a full-functioning car you can call your own makes for a better summer. The combination of driving and summer vacation is one of the best.

Whether this means spontaneous beach days, movie nights, or trips to Orlando, the key word is “spontaneous.” What I love most about summer is perhaps the freedom from schedule, the break from routine, the endless possibilities to fill your time with. Being the first summer as a licensed driver, I can say it was worth the 16 years and some days of wait.

This summer is undoubtedly different from all my previous ones. I say this excitedly, as I know it’s only a bridge to my future. The long summer days spent working on an application beat those spent sitting in my high school classes, which await me in the fall.