Summer "Break"

These carefree summer days are long gone....

As I talk to all of my friends about what they have done so far during their summer vacation and what they will do in the month or so left, I can't help but realize that no one is really taking the "break" part of "summer break" literally. Out of just my close friends, there are people going on community service trips all over the world, interning at various universities and hospitals, attending dozens of college recruiting tournaments for their sports, and working summer jobs (which is what I am doing this summer, along with finishing up all of my junior year class work). After wondering why my peers fill their summers up so much, I can't help but relate it to my Junior Theme topic. I believe that students from areas like the New Trier Township create their incredibly busy summer schedules because of the stress surrounding the college admission process. When talking to one of my friends, she even admitted that she went on a service trip because it sounded fun, but mainly because it would be an interesting story to tell in a college interview or in a college admissions essay. I don't know if this is necessarily a problem in our community because students don't suffer from going on exotic trips, but I just think it is an interesting byproduct of all the stress in the lives of students. What are you doing this summer? What have you already done? What was your motivation to do these things?