The First Day of Summer

Gratitude Challenge - Week 44 - Your Favorite Holiday

Every holiday brings a lovely reprieve from the stresses of daily life, but, in my humble opinion, no holiday is as sweet as the first day of summer vacation. 

On Friday, I finished my last high school exams. In the past year, I have taken over 10 standardized tests, including SAT, ACT, and AP, as well as survived countless hours of homework and studying. Here is what I did to celebrate the first day (and weekend) of my summer vacation.

1. Go out to lunch

After finishing our last senior finals, my friends and I went to lunch to celebrate. At first, I did not feel the relief I thought I would after all my hard work. As we sat eating lunch, I kept trying to reassure myself that I did not have to do anything. I have a three month break from all academia, save my obsessive reading that never leaves. 

2. Eat ice cream

To try to jump start my summer break relief, I went to get ice cream (pictured above). Nothing says summer like a chocolate peanut butter ice cream cone on a warm day. 

3. Do whatever

The true extent of my summer vacation truly hit me this weekend. I had a chance to bake cookies rather than doing homework, and I went for an extra long run because I did not have to hurry home to work on a school project.

4. Party in style

Whispers of a Saturday night parties for seniors circled the school for weeks, but I am not a party person. Lots of people and the potential for underage drinking do not exactly appeal to me. Instead, I went to a friend's house on Saturday night where under and upperclassman mixed, and we had a Nerf war rather than playing beer pong. Plus, we watched the newest Star Wars, fulfilling my nerd needs for the weekend.

5. Enjoy the moment

I still have a week left of school-related events, but for the first time in more than seven years, I do not have any summer reading to do or tests to prepare for or colleges to research. Granted, I have a lot to do this summer, but nothing like previous summers. I am so excited to fill this summer with the kind of spontaneous actions that allow me to live out each and every moment.