Summertime Blues
Like most suburban kids, I have fond childhood memories of summer vacation. Mid-June to the Labor Day was always a time for exploration, new discoveries, and hands-on learning. There was Girl Scout Summer Camp between fourth and fifth grade where I slept in a tent with my best friends, learned to kayak and wind-surf, and performed skits in front of the camp fire. Between seventh and eighth grade, I took an art class at the local museum and came home each day covered with either clay or oil paint. Between my junior and senior years of high school, I lived with a Maori family in New Zealand, where I attended the local school and participated in an outdoor adventure program that included building and sleeping in a snow cave, bungee jumping, and spending 24
