Summer: the most wonderful time of the year. No school, no homework, no problems, except what time you are going to sleep in until tomorrow or what your next adventure will be. Some of the most popular summer activities include going to the beach, attending camp, having a summer job, traveling near and far, and preparing for the new school year’s sports teams.

Nothing is better than escaping the heat for the weekend to head down to Rehoboth, Bethany or Ocean City. Whether it’s going to Funland, shopping at Bethany Surf Shop, riding bikes, eating ice cream for every meal, or laying down on the burning sand trying to get a tan, the beach offers everything you could ask for. Senior Alexa Kantor said, “I love Bethany Beach. I spend almost the entire summer down there and I have been doing that for years now. There’s nothing better than going back to the beach after a long time away.”

The second place people spend their summers is at their “home away from home,”Also known as sleep away camp. Camp allows kids to be unattached from social media, find their best friends, become their true selves and learn who they are and who they want to become. Sophomore Mitchell Coe said, “I’ve been going to sleepaway camp for three years now and I love it so much. The people I have met there are people I will never forget. I wouldn’t want to spend my summers any other way.”

Another popular activity people is traveling. Whether it is on the other side of the world like Belgium, Israel, or Italy, or if it is just to New York or Deep Creek Lake, students were there. Sophomore Ian Smith said, “This summer my family and I rented out a house in Deep Creek Lake in Maryland. We were there for about four days and it was so much fun. We went tubing on the lake and drove a boat around. It was a nice getaway from my regular summer routine.”

Students also spend their summers having a job, like lifeguarding, working at a restaurant, working at a clothing store or a country club. According to the US Department of Labor Blog, in 2011, 34 percent of teens were in the labor force, though the number is declining. Senior Leah Kellert said, “This summer I was a counselor for the little kids at Georgetown Day Camp. It was a great experience that I loved.”

Another thing that people did throughout the summer was getting ready for their fall sports team tryouts. Senior-run team conditioning went on throughout the summer. Kellert said, “Me and other seniors like Jordan Rubin, Kendall Clark, Mia Silver, and Alexa Kantor had been running summer conditionings togethers in order to get in shape for the season.

We did things like road runs, timed miles, runs up the Frost hill, bleacher runs and working on our stick skills together. Other than preparing for tryouts, it has been a great opportunity to meet some incoming freshmen and get closer with the returning players.”