For me, the arrival of summer means a nice break from all the hustle and bustle of the school year. However, this "nice break" only lasts for about three days; that's when I start to get bored of lying around my house. Sure, this summer is different for me. I'm going off to college in the fall and have everything to look forward to. But what about right now? Forget my future; I've got three months of nothing to do before that can take place. I've been spending most of my time inside, reading books from my local library (this is how I usually spend my summers). I love to escape from the monotony that is my real life and spend some time in the lives of rugged adventurers, detectives, and the aristocracy.
But there's only so much a brain can process in such a small amount of time, especially when contending with my ever decreasing attention span. Sure, there are outings with friends, but you can only do so many things when you're a young adult and living in the suburbs of a large city, especially when the only thing on everyone's minds is college and getting started with our futures. Don't get me wrong--I can't wait to start school in the fall. But at the same time, I am quickly coming to the realization that the course that the rest of my life takes all depends on what happens to me (or what I make happen--most likely the latter) while in college. As reality closes in on me, I can't help but look back and wonder where all those years went. Especially since I have a very little sister who will be starting kindergarten in the fall. I look at her and can't help but get a little jealous. She doesn't have to worry about grades and careers and what not. When someone asks her what she wants to be when she grows up, she can answer "fairy princess" and everyone will coo at her and continue to tell my mother how adorable she is. When I get asked the same question, I'm expected to give a serious answer, like "a doctor" (which is truly what I want to do, but that's besides the point). I would receive many frowns if I were to answer "ruler of my own country" (goal #2 after completion of medical school). I miss the days when nothing I did really mattered, where I could tell a corny joke and people wouldn't roll their eyes (What did the 0 (zero) say to the 8? Keep reading if you really want to know the answer).
Oh well. Time to move forward.
I read an article the other day that said that the creativity levels of young people are on the decline. This worries me. By the time my sister is my age, how will she keep from getting bored over the summer? What will she do if nobody has come up with some awesome new supergadget and she has to remain content with the awesome new supergadgets of 2010? Maybe I'll have to remind her of those little stacks of bound paper that most people nowadays call books. What if books don't exist? Who reads anymore, anyway? We have TV and the movies and our MP3 players and all sorts of cool gadgets that are wayyyyyyyy more fun than reading a book. And forget the newspaper, we can find out what happened in the most remote corner of the world in two minutes by clicking a few buttons.
Wait a minute. I still read books and newspapers.
I was at the library with my sister the other day (trying to get her to read. Thankfully, she likes it a lot). However, as we were walking towards the check-out counter, she saw the movie section. She asked if she could check out a few. I didn't see why not, so I let her pick a few out. Ten minutes later, we walked out of the library with more movies than we did books. I even checked out a couple for myself. The one item I snatched up as soon as I saw it was the complete collection of the show "The Animaniacs." That was one of my favorite shows growing up. As I go through the old episodes, I realize that the show is still funny (for me, at least. Keep in mind, however, that I have a horrible sense of humor. My sister doesn't think it's as funny as I do). I wish I could still watch it without garnering criticism from a lot of people, though.
Whatever. Who cares what they think. They are obviously less cool than I am. I'm going to college in the fall and I know who I am and what I want to accomplish. If they don't like it, they can deal with it. That doesn't mean that I don't miss my childhood. Sometimes, I just wish I could go back and see things through my sister's eyes...
The answer to that really lame joke: nice belt.
