As summer approaches I'm beginning to let out a sigh of relief. School is almost over. No homework. No tests. No waking up at 7 a.m. No afterschool sports practices. Total and complete relaxation, right?

I wish. Summer is technically the time you have off. The time you can do what you want, when you want. A well-deserved break from the stress of the school year. But as I've gotten older and deeper into college planning, my coming summer is looking to be just as busy as the school year.

This past summer (after my sophomore year) I went on the Uni organized French trip, and I have since been able to keep in touch with the student who hosted me at her house for two weeks. She and her friend are planning to come visit the U.S., so she asked when it would be possible to stay with my family.

I pulled out my calendar for the summer and realized I only had two weeks out of the entire two-and-a-half month break that I wasn't doing something. There's work, volunteering, athletic and academic camps, and one week of family vacationing. How did my summer get so full? Do I really want to do that much work during my "time off"?

At the beginning of second semester I had decided it would be important to get a job. Of course, for most people, if simply getting the money without putting in any effort was an option then the situation would be much easier. Who wants to work anyway?

But in desperate need for money (both for my own use and for college planning purposes), I found myself a summer job. It is a residential job in Monticello, and I will be home only two full days per week (plus the morning and afternoon of two other days). I figured it wouldn't be so bad, especially since it is in connection with an organization that I'm glad to support. But at the same time I see the underclassmen (and even some people in my own class) who won't be working at all and can't help but envy them. As younger students, they aren't of age to work or simply don't need to (the almost $4 per gallon gas prices don't really concern them).

Aside from work, as I'm an upperclassman, I have now begun to take on more and more responsibilities in regard to the programs I've been involved in. Starting as a freshman you're generally pretty new to clubs and the sports teams, so not a lot is asked of you.

But as you get older, a greater time commitment is required, and you take on bigger roles. You're the one who has to meet a few extra hours over the summer before the new school year starts, and you're the one who has to begin planning ordering those brand new club T-shirts. It's still fun. You still want to be involved. But more and more becomes asked of you.

Combining work and volunteering alongside things such as attending that engineering camp you've always wanted to go to and continuing to do off-season sports training, it adds up. I feel like I still want to be involved in everything. And individually each component sounds exciting! But when it all comes down to only a handful of days at the pool and hanging out at the park with friends, it can feel overwhelming.

A note to underclassmen: Appreciate your summers now! You may not be able to drive just yet, and your curfew may not be as late as you would like, but having week after week available to just lounge around the house (and get cracking on that summer reading) is a lot more valuable than you may think.