What did you do this Summer?
“In the summer, the days were long, stretching into each other. Out of school, everything was on pause and yet happening at the same time, this collection of weeks when anything was possible.”
―Sarah Dessen, Along for the Ride
There was one thing about the first day of school that I hated most.
It’s not waking up at six in the morning, it’s not having homework again, and it wasn’t seeing my old classmate Travis singing Justin Bieber’s “Baby ” in front of the classroom. It’s when teachers or friends ask the question:
What did you do this summer?
Now there’s no harm in this question; usually its just a way to make conversation with people. Depending on what your summers were usually like in your childhood, this question might have made you feel three ways.
How do Summer Vacations Make You Feel?
A. Excited because you had the chance to go to Disney World or abroad. So, you use this opportunity to happily share your summer experience.
B. Bored because you were not the type who cared about sharing their summer details especially if you’re still tired from lack of sleep.
Or
C. Anxious because you may have felt nervous to tell your friends about your summer because it might not have been as exciting as you would have liked.
From my experience, I felt more like A and C.
I felt like answer choice A because I was lucky enough to have exciting summer experiences during my childhood.
During those times, my parents were able to take my siblings and me to places like the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Savannah, Georgia.
In addition to the places, family car rides were highlight of our vacations. During the car ride to the Georgia Aquarium, my brother who was one at the time, would bounce around in his seat and attempt to say words like “beach",“ball”, and “dog". My seventeen year old sister would jam out to songs next to him with her head moving up and down. In front of the car were my parents who laughed about memories with college classmates.
Towards the back of the car was my seven- year-old sister and nine-year old me, singing to songs from our dad’s CDs like “Barbie Girl" and “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston.I cherished the family car rides because everyone was happy and having a good time.
As my siblings and I got older, my parents were preparing their finances to get me ready for my freshman year in college, so the summer after my senior year was spent making sure I had everything I needed for my dorm and school supplies. Which meant if anyone asked me that question that year, I would have felt like answer choice C.
Since I didn’t have my driver’s license at the time, I couldn’t drive myself to the places I wanted to go to. So I spent most of the summer feeling discouraged and disappointed that I remained in the house for most days. They were even moments where I started resented my parents.
I thought it was their responsibility to plan something awesome for our family to do together. That’s what my parents have always done. I hated the fact things feel so different now.
Conversation with my sister
I didn’t realize until I had a heart-to-heart conversation with my older sister over the phone that.
I allowed my happiness to depend on other people. I was letting my summer experiences be defined by what type of summer vacation was planned for us.
My sister understood my disappointment of not having an ideal summer vacation, but she also reminded me that I was eighteen and that I could use that opportunity to do whatever I wanted to do over the summer.
She offered some fantastic suggestions such as:
Exercise: Either at home or a local gym.
Reading: Since I loved reading novels, and I talked about how I didn’t have time to read during high school.
Cleaning: My room by donating old clothes and cleaning out old junk.
Hanging out with Friends: I could ride with friends to go too fast food places, the mall, or the movies.
Summer Job: I could use this summer to get a job to save up on money for college. She added that because she reminded me that the cost of college was pretty high.
According to U.S News and World Reports, the average cost of tuition fees for the 2019–2020 school year was $36,801 for private schools.
Suggest some Family Activities: A local 4th of July Gathering, going to a local beach, or even watching a show or movie together.
Now I would usually get those similar suggestions whenever I googled “What to do over the summer if you’re at home”, but I also learned from her,
A good summer vacation varies for everybody. Most people idealize a summer vacation as going to Hawaii or Paris, France. Others fantasize about summer vacation as just visiting family out-of-state. Some people enjoy a summer vacation where they binge-watch on Netflix shows and nap all day.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that a summer vacation does not depend on where you go, it depends on what you do with it. If you use it to catch on activities, interests, or events, then it will most likely be an enjoyable summer for you.
She also recommended to me to take a break from my social media apps like Snapchat, so that I don’t develop a habit of comparing my summer to one of my friends. I could just take the time to focus on my summer, and contact them if I wanted to hear about theirs.
The last thing she reminded me about was
To rest. My sister reminded me that I spent most of my time in school being on my feet. She let me know it was ok to relax or watch a tv show. If I waited until college to rest, I might realize I won’t have enough time to take a break.
Ever since she gave me this advice, I tried to implement them into my summer plans.
For example, I used last summer catching up on some books I read in high school such as “ Dreamland Burning” by Jennifer Latham. It was also the same summer when I got my driver’s license thanks to driving lessons with my dad.
I also used this summer by focusing on working out my body to maintain good health.
Did my article give you some good ideas on how to enjoy your summer vacation?
Doyin Oyelami All Rights Reserved©
