What a Summer can Hold

This article was written by Lonestar Writer Natalie Lehmann

With half a school year gone, a summer full of adventure awaits each and every student. As much as we would all like to think and say that “Oh ya, I’m definitely going to get ahead this summer”, most of us will binge watch the new season of our favorite shows coming up (like Stranger Things season three on July fourth) or swim the Texas heat away with friends. Though few of us will be reading our summer lists and maybe going to some summer school classes, the majority will be wondering how to spend the next three months of our lives productively and contradicting ourselves with the prospect of just hanging out.

The key word is productively, with so many summer programs the word gets tossed around carelessly. From camps to summer school to vacations, there are so many options, that they’re all blurred into a confusing mess only causing us to decide not to go through all the trouble and just sleep in until the school year starts. While summer school is helpful and conveniently opens a study hall and gets rid of a credit, why not have fun for the few months of freedom we are allowed before entering the endless cycle of homework, stress and studying. For this exact reason, to escape certain school-caused brain explosions I present the reason for this eye-opening article.

While some may have been raving in anticipation when hearing the slightest mention of having time to binge watch a whole series, why not get off our couches and do some exploring. We’re young and still have the energy to explore without the burden of careers, even if you do not consider yourself to be the most active person or the most outdoorsy person, adventure programs containing hiking and other outdoor fun present multiple opportunities to extract yourself from overthinking and focus on enjoying yourself. I’m sure many of you all are already thinking “you expect me to live in the woods for two weeks”, but even sleeping on a hard floor with an occasional buzzing bug for a little bit can be an insignificant detail in the overall review of the experiences gained by programs like Outward Bound, National Geographic Expeditions or NOLS.

These wilderness classes are all based on similar principles: exploration, social interaction and widening a young adult’s sense of self. Ingoing these programs, you meet people from all over the world and do things that aren’t very common for a person around our age. To be able to experience a part of nature that is unknown to us is a truly brilliant prospect to strive for. Students learn leadership skills that can be brought back to an everyday school day, how to work successfully with people whose opinions may differ and to just have fun with people your own age in a place where the classic social hierarchy is nonexistent.

Last summer I enrolled in a two week Outward Bound course in Maine focusing on hiking, canoeing and rock climbing. I was in a group with ten other people, including myself, and two leaders. Though it was difficult at first to grasp the fact that you won’t have any contact with the modern world for two weeks and no normal food (although we did have tacos one night), soon the days became routine, allowing me to gain a greater sense of independence and confidence in skills adaptable to multiple situations. The program opened my eyes to a whole world that was previously clouded by procrastination, overscheduling and being just plain lazy. I’ve been able to use many of the skills learned from Outward Bound such as delegating at school for projects and working with others for assignments

Overall, as much as we’d like to relax all summer long, summer is meant for exploration and adventures so why not try something new and see how the positive effects affect your life. Through any varying outdoor program your previously boring summer will transform into one that can uphold a productive aspect in which you can grow and explore more about yourself in, making it one that earns the right to be called a summer.

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