IT'S THE SUMMERTIME COUNTDOWN!

During the school year, there is one thing that most students’ minds will wander to: SUMMERTIME. I asked 31 people to answer the question of ¨Do you count down to the end of the school year?¨ Three people said yes and 28 people said no. However, those 28 people are WRONG! I happen to think counting down to summer is a worthwhile endeavor.

Even though almost everyone I asked said that they don´t count down as the school year goes on, I think that people should. A countdown to summer helps students get organized, makes students more focused, helps prepare for life on their own, and it gets them excited for summer. 

To begin, counting down to summer vacation can keep you organized. Knowing an ultimate deadline helps you make plans for the school year as well as the summertime while still participating in scholastic activities. Being aware of summer can help you figure out when you buy your prom dress, when you take the ACT or any number of activities that could possibly happen before your extended break between school years. Realizing and accounting for those steps before something major like summer break will only help you get your life in order prior to the big day.  

Another reason for counting down to summer is because it can make you more focused and determined. If you keep track of when summer begins, it makes you focused on your grades and determined to get your work done so you don’t have to worry about possibly repeating a class, let alone the whole grade.  Making up credits during the summer is a major cramp in one’s style, so knowing the clock is ticking can be just what one needs to finally buckle down and get something done.

Counting down to the beginning of summer also helps prepare you for your life after high school. Getting used to deadlines and time crunches at a young age is a struggle for a lot of people. They are everywhere: work, home, school, life, and anything important or worth doing. The earlier you get used to meeting deadlines (such as the last day of school), the easier it will be for you to meet them when you have them.

As well as keeping you focused, keeping track of the time until summer begins also gets you excited for summer. I am willing to bet that as much as most kids love coming to school, they love summer more - as they should. There are a plethora of fun pastimes in the summer such as picnics, swimming, sleeping in, all-nighters, and, best of all, no schedules. You are free to do as one wishes within reason of the parents’ rules.

In conclusion, there are a few reasons that counting down as the school year goes on can be beneficial to you and your life. Doing this helps students get more organized, become more focused, and prepare for life after high school. But why does anyone count down to the new year? Why does anyone count down to the days to their wedding? For the most important reason anyone would count down to anything at all - it builds excitement. If students counting down to summer is a bad thing, then I guess so is excitement, and who are we to be the judge of that? 

While I am sure I have convinced you all to countdown, Carys Graham seems to have a difference in opinion, scroll down to see her side of the story if you have more time to kill.

-----------------

Counting Down? How About Not...

Summer vacation is always an exciting time for students all over the world. For many students though, it can be a stressful and scary time of year as well. To relieve that stress, some students like to create countdowns to summer vacation. I believe that those countdowns do not help. In fact, I believe they cause more stress and make students hate school even more!

Summer vacation countdowns are a terrible idea for many reasons. First, it causes more stress to get work done by the end of the year. Having been a student most of my life, I think it’s fair to say that the lead-up to summer vacation is a major cause of stress. The impending doom that accompanies the end of a school year causes teens to undertake tireless work to make up all of the assignments that they miss or failed throughout the year.

With all of the school work that students get during the year, it piles up so that missing even one day can get an individual very behind. When the end of the year comes around, there is so much work to make up and almost no time to get it done. Students should stop worrying about their summer plans and start worrying about the culmination of their academic year.

As if the stress on students wasn’t enough, countdowns are a bad idea because they stress teachers out, too. Teachers already have so much work to do for school and even more when summertime comes. With getting final grades in, pushing students to finish strong, the stress never stops. 

Finally, I believe countdowns for anything are pointless and a waste of time. Instead of focusing so much about an event in the future, individuals need to live in the moment. Countdowns in general are bad because it makes it impossible for the event itself to live up to the anticipation.  Rather than trying to make the earth’s natural process of spinning any faster, people should just sit back and enjoy the ride at its current speed.

In conclusion, countdowns to summer are a cause of stress in many students and are a waste of time. Whether you agree with me or you are wrong and agree with Nyah, be sure to follow Anchor News on Fusfoo, Twitter and Instagram for more great CHS content!