Summer is hands down every teenager’s favorite time of the year. It is a break from school, time to hang out with friends, not be on a schedule, and just be able to relax and enjoy some time off. As the school year is winding down and summer is quickly approaching students at EHS are already making plans for the summer. This week I interviewed multiple students on campus to see what their upcoming summer plans are.
Katie Rentch, a sophomore here at Esperanza, has a pretty relaxing summer ahead of her. This summer she is going to be traveling alone all the way to North Carolina to see her best friend she has not seen in a very long time. Going into junior year Rentch wants to earn some spending money for summer, so she is planning on getting a job at Crumbl Cookies. “I want to have fun spending money, and be able to give my boyfriend and friends a discount on cookies.” When Katie was thinking about her future she was saying how she wants to travel a lot. The question I asked Katie was, “if you could travel anywhere in the world at no cost, where would you go and who would you go with?” Katie said that she would love to go to Costa Rica. The reason for this is that she is an animal lover. In Costa Rica, there are many different kinds of exotic animals that would be fun to go see. Katie would take her boyfriend Grady, and her best friend since elementary school Hannah. I think we can all agree that Katie is so ready for summer.
The next Aztec that is eager for summer break is Grady Shaffer. He is a junior here at Esperanza. As Grady was reflecting on his childhood summers he realized that the best vacation he took as a kid, hands down, had to be his trip to New York. This was his favorite trip because he made so many memories in just a week that will last him a lifetime. He remembers walking outside of his hotel for the first time and just thinking, “Oh My Gosh, the buildings are so big, there’s so much to look at.” As a little kid, those trips sound fun. Some of the adventures they took while there, were going to the Bronx, The Brooklyn Bridge, and last but his most favorite, Yankee Stadium. The reason Yankee Stadium was his favorite is because Grady loves baseball. Grady has been playing since he was little so this was a dream come true. After reminiscing about his old trips, this summer he is going to be jam-packed with sports. One of his biggest time commitments is going to be his football camp. He was explaining that they have to get there at “6:00 in the morning and they practice until 12:00 or 1:00 every day except for Sundays.” Grady mentioned that, along with his football he wants to be able to have time to hang out with his girlfriend Katie. He said that he had some “fun summer plans” for them to do. During this interview he was asked if he enjoyed swimming in a pool or lake better, Grady’s answer was a lake, because there is so much you can do in a lake. “You can go wakeboarding, paddle boarding, and overall it’s bigger than a swimming pool.”
After asking all the questions about summer it made me start thinking about my past summers. I was thinking about my favorite vacation as a kid, it reminded me of the time that my grandparents took my sister and I camping at Newport Dunes. This was a very memorable experience because I made memories with both my sister and my grandparents that will last forever. I will never forget the bike rides, smores, swimming, and arcade trips. My grandpa would sit at the claw machine and play until he won two stuffed animals for my sister Chloe and me. Unfortunately, we have not gone in the past four years but I will never take those vacations or memories for granted. In the end, summer is a time for teens to relax and have fun. Best wishes for a safe and memorable summer Aztecs!
