At the beginning of this summer i made myself a list of things to do so i wouldn't end up wasting my summer. I accomplished less than half the things on my list. I got my driver's license, got a job and almost went camping.
I didn't learn to juggle or complete a Rubik's cube or read any of the books i intended too (darn you, Stephenie Meyer!), i never made it to an aqua concert or went kayaking, and it turns out, Japanese is a lot harder than it looks.
But why should that bother me? I had fun. I was never bored (thank you, neopets). I did things and learned things. Maybe i just started my vacation with unrealistic expectations; i anticipated wild adventure after wild adventure, romance, money, with everything in between filled with witty repartee.
No such luck.
What made me think that this summer would be any different than the 11 school summers that preceded it? Because it was the last one? Because i had made a list, perhaps?
No. The culprit of my disappointment is the same as always. Disney. No matter how hard i tried to " get my head in the game," nothing ever turned out the way i wanted it to.
Yeah, i got a summer job, but it wasn't at a country club, and none of my high school friends worked there. There were no dance numbers or musical interludes, and i didn't have a heart-melting teen romance with Zac Efron -- or anyone else, for that matter.
My main point here is that Disney likes to depict teen life as a carefree romp when in reality it is just as challenging as any other stage of life.
When i was 10, i couldn't wait to reach my teen years because i was sure that when i did, everything would be just like Lizzie Mcguire. Hardly any homework, cool friends, lots of shopping and a cartoon alter ego to provide comic relief through all my tougher situations
What a disappointment that was when i reached the big one-three. It was nearly as bad as turning 11 and not getting my hogwarts' letter (though it should be arriving any day now -- as soon as my owl escapes from the alaska zoo).
Looking back, i had a good summer. I spent a lot of quality time with my friends and family, i learned to drive, i read entertaining books. I won't remember most of it in five years, but who cares! My summer would be a really boring movie, but it held my attention to the very end, and that's what counts.
Lindsey Leonard will be a senior at west high school.
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