Summer vacation revolves around everyone's mind during the last few months of school, especially the summer after sophomore year since just about everyone can drive. Three months of sleeping in and homework free-nights sounds pretty amazing. However, my parents thought summer school sounded better. For a month. Thanks.

I packed up my things, and in the early days of summer I left for a college in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I went willingly but a little sad about missing a summer with friends and being homework free. The camp gave high school students a small taste of the college life: a college class, living without your parents, and managing your homework with all the free time. My mom helped me unpack my stuff in the apartment, which was an eight-minute walk from the class I was taking, stayed for the orientation, and said goodbye.

After orientation, I learned there were eleven other kids. My roommate's name was Lydia, and the class was every week day for three hours in the morning. Then after a week I learned more about my fellow peers. Some would rather die than break a rule, and some were debating on whether to have their friends send them alcohol through the mail. Not everyone got along, and yet some were setting up dates to visit each other.

This long experience taught my many lessons. You learn things through experience, new surroundings, and new people. I learned to stand up for what I believed instead of not saying anything because it is easier. I learned that its not the hardships we go through that matter, but how we respond and handle the problems we're given. I'm thankful for going to this summer camp, it has prepared me for the future.