Almost Summer

Even though I am far from being of the “in school” age, I can still sense the joy and anticipation that waft through the air as kids from around the city get ready to finish school and be unleashed into summer.

Growing up, some of my favorite memories were from the warm summertime months. My parents were both working full-time, so my brother and I were encouraged to fill our days with whatever activity we wanted – so as long as whatever we chose had nothing to do with the television.

Over the years, I spent weeks backpacking with youth groups, biking, rock climbing, attending to East Bay School of the Arts (an art, sport, music, drama, and circus camp), swimming, participating in the library book club, traveling, tutoring, and babysitting. Every summer I got to do a different combination of activities that I wouldn’t otherwise get to explore during the school year – which I certainly enjoyed, but whose true value I didn’t get to fully appreciate until many years later.

Now, as an adult who (like my parents) works full-time, I look back at the summer activities of my youth and would like to thank my mom and dad for allowing me to “try out” my budding interests and pursue whichever ones I found particularly enjoyable. These days, those experiences seem not so much about the actual activity, but more about discovering my strengths, weaknesses, passions, and eclectic knack for certain things (I’m great at juggling, who would have known?)

Certainly, self-awareness often grows with age and maturity, much it nurtured with private SAT tutoring. But confidence in one’s sense of self, I’ve come to believe (and while derived from many factors) is largely dependent on experiencing and mastering new things, and learning that no matter what it is (woodcarving or hiking twenty miles with sixty pounds on your back), you will undoubtedly survive – and even more so – find yourself having become a stronger version of yourself because of it.

So parents, as you witness your kids bursting forth from the school exit bubbling with energy for the summer, remember that just because school is out, it doesn’t mean that the best time to learn is over for the year. In fact, it might have just begun…