After the turn of events in 2020, many students were not able to go through with their original summer plans. Instead of hanging out with friends or going to summer camps, students had to spend their summers during a pandemic in quarantine. Now that COVID-19 restrictions are starting to loosen in the U.S., students are using this chance to make up for lost time. 

    “ I get to visit my family this year in California as opposed to last year when I couldn’t go. We’ve all been vaccinated now so that helps,” junior Rachel Taylor said. 

    As COVID-19 vaccines become more available to the public, students can now travel more safely when compared to before, according to GoodRx. family or simply experience a new environment. According to a survey conducted by the Patriot Post, 23 out of 26 students said that they would be traveling this summer to places such as Mexico, Costa Rica and Israel. 

    In the same survey, 14 out of 26 students said they would be attending camps this summer. “I will be going to Camp Seafarer in North Carolina to be a Camper in Leadership Training (CILT). I will be living in a cabin with 12 young girls and a couple counselors and act as their role model,” sophomore Emma Leonard said. “During the day I’ll be trained on how to teach campers to sail, as well as playing with campers on activities.”

    Students also want to take this time to work on themselves and relax from such a stressful year. Per the same survey, 16 out of 26 students claimed they wanted to use this summer to work on their hobbies, study, spend time with family and/or make themselves better people.

    Overall, students plan on making this summer a productive one, especially after the effects of the pandemic which kept them from participating in their normal routines.