I vividly remember my summer vacations during elementary school: sleeping in, no homework, and going to the pool everyday. However, as the years passed, elementary school summers eventually transitioned into high school summer vacation. Suddenly, my guilt-free, lazy summers evaporated into ones of high-stakes pressure to utilize my time to get ahead and focus even more on academics. As I look around at my summer so far, I see intense summer programs, extra college classes, and vigorous summer assignments. While these activities are undoubtedly important, it is still equally as important to utilize summer vacation for exactly what it was intended to be: a time to refresh and recharge before another year of finals and AP exams arrives.

I know first hand how difficult it can be to find a balance. But without taking a proper rest this summer, it will be difficult to approach the next school year full steam ahead. In fact, a study done by the University of Illinois found that brief diversions or breaks from a task can drastically improve the ability of an individual to focus on that task for long periods of time. This essentially translates to summer vacation for us high school students. Although it might be easy to feel guilty for taking a breather this summer, it truly is a long term investment in order to perform at top capacity during the school year. Without a break, students can easily burn out before the school year even begins.

I know it‘s easy to say that finding a balance is important this summer, but it is extremely difficult to put it into practice. The easiest way I found to do this, though, is to schedule everything. At the most basic level, I schedule in my job, my summer classes, my summer assignments, and any other activities that don’t sound like fun on paper. But I also schedule in rest time, fun events to attend, and even a time slot for doing spontaneous things. Doing so forces me to maintain a healthy mix of resting and productivity without feeling guilty that I am not managing my time well.

At the end of the day, it might be uncomfortable to slow down and rest this summer. There are so many long term goals that you want to accomplish, so resting seems like a waste of time. But truly, finding a balance is not only healthy for you, but it also allows you to recharge in order to keep pushing for those long term goals.

<Emily Chang / West Ranch High School Grade 11>