Seaking Summer

Photo+of+Huntington+Beach.+Photo+Courtesy+of+travel.usnews.com

Photo of Huntington Beach. Photo Courtesy of travel.usnews.com

Maria Dahl and Zoe Teets

The first signs that summer is near can be felt in the rise in temperature and sunnier skies. Shorts and tank tops are making a more regular appearance and the beaches are getting more crowded. Students are either studying hard for their upcoming AP tests and finals, or they have started zoning out, waiting for summer break to arrive. With summer break in about a month, the students of CdM have started planning out what their 2023 summer is going to look like. From traveling across the world, to going to Balboa with their friends, students are anxiously awaiting what their well deserved vacation will bring.

 

As students push through the final stretch of the year, and are met with the challenge of final tests and AP exams, one thought motivates them to finish on a high note. Summer break is approaching quickly, and is a comforting image. Many CdM students are impatiently counting down the weeks until long days spent at the beach, sunburns fading into tans, late nights with friends, and bike rides along the peninsula become an everyday thing. Freshman Brianna Roman is “really excited for summer break, because [she] gets[s] to hang out with friends and do new things.” Her favorite thing about summer break is the opportunity to “try new activities like hiking and spending more time outside.” Roman is traveling “to Cabo on a cruise ship for the first few weeks of summer.” A popular vacation spot, sophomore Ashley Larocca “might take a trip to Mexico” as well. She is “really excited to go to the beach,” especially “since there has been a lot of stress the last weeks of school.” Her “favorite thing about summer is how tan you can get.” Freshman Mira Mikulka also has exciting travel plans for the summer, as she is going to “visit Italy and the Philippines” with her family. Although she is feeling “very optimistic” about the next school year, she is “really excited about not going to school” over summer break. Larocca and Roman are also both looking forward to a new school year as a fresh start, and “chance to meet new people and try new things.”

 

As eager as the students, Mr. Ziebarth is super excited to travel to Cedar City, Utah to see family. He also hopes to spend a lot of time gardening, and hanging out with his “wife and kids for eight weeks.” Countering all this eager anticipation, junior Reese Lundy is “not excited for summer.” She describes herself as “a big extrovert” who really enjoys the school year, “because [she] can hang around people all day.” She has fun and bittersweet plans such as traveling “to Florida, working a lot, and saying goodbye to friends who will leave for college.”

 

As the end of the school year nears, the excitement for the endless possibilities summer holds continues to grow. Summer break is the perfect opportunity to relax, hang out with friends, and reset in order to begin the next school year with a fresh start. Mr. Ziebarth, for one, is very excited for the new school year, because he plans on “be[ing] a lot more strict.” For many students however, summer break is one of the best times of the year, and they are sure to make the most out of it.