I decided to take my dad’s advice and relive my elementary school days with the typical first day of school assignment, so here we are:
How I Spent My Summer Vacation, by Jenessa Irvine, Grade 16
Well, try as I might, unlike many Pomona students I didn’t have some interesting job or fascinating and resume-padding internship. Instead, this summer I did, well, this and that. I read quite a few books, including the book for the freshman class, The Barbarian Nurseries (which was excellent, by the way). I probably watched many movies. I introduced my sisters and mother to Downton Abbey and I can’t wait for the third season. I got a bit obsessed with the Olympics and saw many sports I had never seen before (the steeplechase in track and field is one of my new favorites). I went to the beach. I went shopping. I gloried in my new cooking and baking skills. I hung out with friends. I practiced viola less than I should have. I watched the Dodgers lose twice (really, guys?)
I tried to exercise and also to volunteer as much as possible. On these fronts I was moderately successful I think. At least for volunteering I helped at my brother’s Cub Scout Day camp and ran a three-session book workshop for kids with a friend, among various other adventures. Getting my fourth grade brother ready for school was a task in itself.
Having just been abroad and explored a new city, I wanted to come back and apply the same energy and curiosity to discovering my native Los Angeles. It had always seemed like just “home,” somehow inexplicable, and when people I met abroad asked about LA that was more or less how I described it. So I set out and explored a bit, and took advantage of things like a Regina Spektor concert that I don’t want to let pass me by anymore.
So there you have it. A summer in the life of a Pomona student. In conclusion, I think I was too busy to have a job. Except despite, or perhaps because of, all the things I seem to have done, the summer has vanished far too quickly—and now it’s time for school. I’ve got new notebooks and I even washed my car (that’s how you know we’re getting fancy). Time for a new year and new beginnings—not to mention new classes, professors, essays, and exams. But let’s not dwell on that. For now, a few more days to enjoy home cooking!