We've come at long last to the end of another term. Traditionally, lots of schools slow down their subscriptions a couple of weeks before finals so that students can devote more of their time to revising for the upcoming exams. And these are some important ones.
The long summer break is coming up, and lots of students will be heading off to university once summer's over. It's a pretty exciting time, that summer before you head off to your years of higher education. I remember that summer quite well. I was very busy, working at a job to earn money and also planning for the year ahead.
It can be quite scary, looking forward to living away from home for the first time. And it can be more difficult for some people than it is for others.
As I said, I spent most of the summer before my freshman year at university working my summer job. I was the manager of the local theatre in the small town where I grew up. We also had a video store attached, so I'd work days there as well. I was trying my hardest to save up for university, so about 90 percent of my paycheck went into my savings account. At the time, that 10 percent left over certainly felt like enough to live on. After all, I was still living with Mom and Dad, so I didn't have to pay for rent or food or anything like that.
The beginning of the summer was great. My graduation present from my grandfather was a trip with him to Hawaii, the first time I'd ever been to the tropics. It was a pretty great trip. I snorkeled off a beautiful beach on Lanai, bicycled down a volcano on Maui and got to spend a great few days in Honolulu, doing all the touristy stuff all the tourists are supposed to do.
After that it was back to the grindstone at the movie theatre. It was always hot during the summer, but the nights cooled off a bit. I used to love driving way out into the country in the middle of the night all by myself. I'd pull off the road and lie on the hood of my car, staring up at the stars.
The video store had air conditioning, so that was actually a great place to spend my days. And I could watch any movie I wanted, provided it didn't have any swearing or nudity in it.
All in all, it was a pretty great summer. I knew at the end of it, I'd be well shot of that dusty little town I'd grown up in, and that even if I returned to visit it would never have to be my home again.
There was so much to look forward to then. One last perfect summer.
I hope all of you have one of those this year.
Sean Vale
Editor
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