Summer?

I had a moment of panic last night because I realized that we were getting into the double digits of July.  And for any student, this is kind of a scary thing.  Because once you enter the double digits of July, it seems like summer is over - even though it's nowhere near that!  I realize how much work I still have to do before school starts back and it sends me into a frenzy.  And then I realize that I don't have much time to spend with family and friends, and that pains me.

I feel like students aren't allowed to be kids anymore.  My little sister starts kindergarten in the fall and they won't even let kids bring in treats for their birthdays!  If they do, the snacks get sent home with the kids in their backpacks!  Know why?  Because they need to fit the lessons into the day.  OH.  MY.  GAWD.  Kindergarten??  I'm pretty sure that in kindergarten, I didn't learn anything other than how to cut on the lines and color inside the lines.  Give me a break.

But it starts there and it just keeps getting worse.  There's the pressure of knowing what you want to do in college from, I kid you not, the fifth grade.  Career day?  And then in junior high they put you in classes that impact how ready you will be for AP classes.  And in high school, you start taking AP and Honors classes to get you ready for college.  Freshman year seems like no big deal, you still have FOREVER until you go to college.  But come sophomore year?  Panic.  I'm 16.  I'm supposed to plan out my life?  Right now?  I know that I want to write, but there's not exactly a degree that assures me a publishing contract.  I want to do something that makes a difference, but I have no idea what I want to go to college for.  English Major?  Creative Writing?  Journalism?  I have no idea.

But my point is, high school is supposed to make up the best years of your life.  It's supposed to be a time of freedom and figuring out who you are - and who you want to be.  It's supposed to be a time to make mistakes and learn from them.  It's supposed to be fun. . . and I'm feeling the exact opposite.  I don't think we're ready to "grow up".  It's scary.  But we have to.  But, again, I'm 16. . .

This has pretty much no point to it, other than for me to get a little bit off of my chest.  And plus, I forgot it was Tuesday and had no idea what I wanted to talk about.