Summer Essay
By Christopher Alexandra
When the word ?summer? comes to mind most think of mindless entertainment and freedom. However if you were to experience a summer such as mine, your perception would be greatly changed. Of course my summer did contain plenty of enjoyment; it also was a period of vast maturing. I learned that a man?s greatest treasure was his family, I learned the value of a dollar and I also learned that to be successful in life, you must apply yourself fully to everything you do.
This summer I have learned many valuable life lessons, but above all I learned that family is the greatest thing a person can have. Every year, my mother, father and many members from the car club go to Atlanta, Georgia for an astronomically large car show called Nopi. Every year I go, I regret not having a digital camera to capture the true greatness of this event. Well, this summer my parents told me that if I were to watch my little brother this summer, they would actually pay me for my services, they were actually going to buy me a digital camera. I was extremely ecstatic, ?Haha? I said to myself, ?all I have to do is stay home all day, watch TV and play on my computer, and get paid for it?? But little did I know that this job wouldn?t be so easy. Dominic, my little brother, has always been one extremely rambunctious child, and this summer his insanity was easily illustrated. Of course, when the summer started I had no control over him, and my house was completely chaotic until about six thirty PM, when my mother came home. As the summer progressed, his respect for me rose and rose, to the point where I can now aid my parents in showing him right from wrong. In the meantime, my younger cousin, Lindsey, from NY came down to visit. She, her sister, her sister?s boyfriend, and one of their close friends all came down just before my family went on vacation. It was an absolutely fun week. Later, after everyone left except for Lindsey, we debated on whether we should go to the mountains, or the beach. In the end we decided on going to Carolina Beach. We had an absolute blast.
Another important life lesson I learned was the true value of a dollar. As mentioned before, my parents offered me a digital camera to take care of my little brother over the summer. Well as the summer progressed, I could tell that what I was doing was wrong. My parents work extremely hard to take care of themselves and their children. So as the last days of summer came, the gut wrenching feeling in my stomach grew and grew until I got to the point where I finally had to just tell my parents that I didn?t want any reward. In two months I?ll be old enough to get a legitimate job, and I understand that money isn?t exactly easy to make, it is something you have to work for. So in summary I learned that taking the camera would be like ?ripping off? my parents, and I declined their offer.
Finally, the lesson I think is most important, is to be successful in life, you must apply yourself fully to everything you do. For example, if you want to be a reporter, you must study your subject, find all information possible and deliver it as truthfully as possible. As most of you know, I tried out for football this summer and to my astonishment, I made varsity offensive line. However, this being my first year, I wanted to have more experience before I started on varsity. So I told my head coach that I thought it best to be moved down to junior varsity. So every day after I attended everyday of practice, I listened to everything the coaches said, and I asked questions if I was confused. I still am on JV, but the coaches know who I am. I started playing as a right guard on the offensive line, and now I have been playing in varsity games as a defensive end. In my opinion, I believe I am doing great, and if I keep applying myself to this sport as I have been, I may be a starting player next year.
In conclusion, I had an unforgettable summer. I have matured greatly, I learned that a man?s greatest treasure was his family, I learned the value of a dollar and I also learned that to be successful in life, you must apply yourself fully to everything you do. And I believe that if I use these lessons my whole life I will be a much respected person.
