Seniors: This is your last summer -- make it count

I just finished my junior year, so this will be my last summer as a high school student. I have mixed feelings about leaving high school, but what I do know is that I really don't want to waste this vacation.

We only have 12 short summers before we are adults expected to go out and make our way in the world, and I am on summer No. 12. I don't want to come to the end of this summer and feel like I wasted time.

Please, don't get me wrong. I'm not naive enough to think that just because I set my mind on having an eventful summer means that I will. But maybe if I had a system or a list that I could check off, I could at least fool myself into believing that I had a fulfilling summer. If you can come to the end of August with a list of accomplishments instead of a list of homework yet to be done, I'd say you've had a satisfying summer.

Summer is the perfect time to pursue interests that you have wanted to do for some time but have been unable to because of the demands of the school year. I suggest you make a list of summer goals and necessities and then do them. They don't have to be difficult, boring or academic. My summer list goes like this:

• Get my driver's license.

• Get a job.

• Finish my online gym course.

• Do my summer homework

OK, so far I'm not doing too well at following my own advice. But as soon as those are accomplished (or, more realistically, long before that) I also plan to:

• Learn to juggle.

• Learn Japanese.

• Learn how to dance.

• Figure out how to solve a Rubik's cube.

• Go camping, hiking and kayaking.

• See Aqua in concert.

• Read "Of Human Bondage," "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "Lasers and Masers."

It's a modest list but, after all, it is still vacation. I'll keep you updated on what I've accomplished, and maybe we can keep each other motivated. Hopefully, you can come to the end of vacation with a list of accomplishments instead of -- OK, in addition to -- a list of homework to be done. At least you will have had a satisfying summer.

Lindsey Leonard is a senior at West High.