My Summer Plans

Summer is upon us! I just finished my last AP test of the year which means that my junior year is officially over. In this post I want to share my goals and plans for this summer.  

School 

I’m only going to take one class this summer, a prep class for Rhetoric 2. I didn’t take Rhetoric 1 this year, but I needed the prerequisite for Rhetoric 2. I’ll go through the self-paced course this summer so that I’m prepared for the class in the fall. It’s not for credit or a grade, so there won’t really be any assignments which will be nice, and I’ll have all the terms and basic understanding I need to get started on my Senior Thesis in this next school year. 

Reading 

I am starting to make a reading list for this summer, which I might share later. My goal is to read any of the books from Wilson Hill’s Great Conversation 5 class that interest me. I know I probably can’t make it through all of them in one summer, but I want to read as many as possible. I’m also going to start a few other novels that I’ve never read before but would like to start such as To Kill a Mockingbird and Sense and Sensibility.  

Hobbies 

I have recently started learning how to crochet, so this summer I want to expand this hobby a bit more and learn some new stitches and maybe work on some more complex items. I really enjoy the rhythmic nature of the stitches and it’s so much fun to see the finished products.  

One of my finished crochet pieces (axolotl!)

Workouts 

As a swimmer, I frequently look at Swim Swam. I found some old posts with over 200 dryland workouts for swimmers. They take about 15-30 minutes and since I haven’t been swimming lately, I thought they would be a great way to stay in shape. I plan to do one of the sets each weekday. I also am hoping to be able to swim a little on my own time so that I can be prepared for high school season this fall.  

Puppy Training 

We recently joined a program that trains puppies to be guide dogs. We have a black lab for 6 months and our job is to start his basic training while he’s with us, and then he will go onto more advanced training later. I want to make it a habit to work with him for at least 15 minutes each day and build up his skills.  

Work 

Finally, I will be working 6 days a week in the summer. I’ll work about a few hours each on Monday-Friday evenings and on Saturday mornings. I work as a swim lessons instructor, so it will be very nice in the hot summer sun to spend some time in the water.  

College Research 

Applications are opening for the class of 2025 this summer! I am going to do some deep diving into some of my top colleges and spend this summer preparing to apply. I also hope to apply for some scholarships and overall iron out all the last details for going to and paying for college.  

 

Since this is the first summer in a while that I won’t be taking more than one class, I’m hoping that I will actually be able to accomplish all my goals that I wrote out above. It might be a busy summer, but I will be happy to have time to spend on developing interests other than schoolwork!