I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with summer. I love that for three months of the year my life doesn’t revolve around school, but I hate not seeing my friends every day. I love watching endless hours of baseball, but I hate when I forget my sunscreen and end up looking like a lobster. I love going to the library and checking out as many books I can carry, and I hate when I finish a book because it means the story is over.

My great love of summer is reading.

I was always “that kid” in your high school English class. The one who was jumping out of their seat at the chance to discuss the summer reading on the first day. The one who had their favorite quotes highlighted and color coded making it easy to pull quotes for class discussions and in-class essays. I got eye rolls and funny stares as I raised my hand to answer the teacher’s question. I didn’t really care what my classmates thought because I loved reading and I wanted to share that with other people.

I love using summer as a time to read all of the books, reports, or articles I didn’t have time to read during the school year. I was able to find all seven Horcruxes with Harry, Ron and Hermione. I convinced myself Big Brother was real after reading “1984” for the first time. I thought the shells people talked into in “Fahrenheit 451” was freakishly similar to the Bluetooth headset. Reading showed me new and exciting places and let me stand alongside some of my favorite characters as we learned and grew together. I got to live vicariously through them as they traveled the world and solved crimes. These books expanded my mind and challenged the way I saw the world.

I realize everyone isn’t a big bookworm like me, but I hope you all spend your summer growing, learning and spending your time doing something you love. Use these lazy, hazy and crazy days of summer to spend time doing something you don’t normally have time for. Whether you end up learning how to code, exploring a new neighborhood in your town, or even having the privilege of studying abroad, make the most of your experiences and take advantage of the brief break from school. As we grow up, the number of summers we have to relax grow smaller and smaller, so make sure you take advantage of this summer, and spend it doing something 
you love.

Madelyn Schorr is a senior majoring in art and anthropology. Her column runs biweekly.