Emily Swope ‘22, Editor-in-Chief

As I sat down in the NA courtyard on the first day of school to eat lunch with my friends, we all agreed: it felt like we never left. After almost three months away from the traditional academic schedule and course load, students should feel refreshed and recharged for the new school year.  However, with summers full of summer classes, internships, jobs, and preseason practices, they don’t feel as energized as expected. Even though most students did leave the physical Newark Academy campus, they still feel like they never left the busy, stressful culture of working, meeting deadlines, and balancing many commitments. What happened? Where did summer go?

Especially with the fear of being “behind” after a year of cancelled plans, students feel an increased pressure to have a “productive” summer, creating a culture in which students might not be getting the time they need to relax and refresh. The Wall Street Journal’s article “Stressed Teens Fret Over How Much to Relax During the Summer” outlined the three paths students decide between when planning their summers: one can either rest and recharge, work and make money, or “rack up” activities to put on college applications. This last choice can seem tempting, especially to upperclassmen beginning to think about college applications and experience parental pressure.  It also doesn’t help when prestigious universities such as Harvard publish articles entitled “Summer Activities that will Boost a College Application.” These make students feel guilty for wanting down time and relaxation and enforce the impression that students need to embellish their applications with superficial activities in order to fulfill some imaginary checklist.

Dr. Stefanie Niles, head of admissions at Ohio Wesleyan University and president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, tries to combat this myth: “Don’t do something just to check a box on a college application. Do something you enjoy.”  She emphasizes that colleges value quality over quantity of activities and evaluate students’ activities based on how they “contribute to their personal growth.”  Similarly, Steve Frappier, director of college counseling at the Westminster Schools in Atlanta, asks students two questions as they plan their summers: “How much gas do you have in your tank?” and “What haven’t you had time for this year that you wish you could have done?”  This approach allows students to make decisions about their summer based on their interests, schedules, and mental and physical wellbeing.

These messages are comforting, helping stressed students understand that they can choose to spend their time based on what brings them joy and helps them grow.  If you wanted to work at your local bakery all year but haven’t had time, summer’s the perfect time to try it out! If shadowing a scientist and completing an internship ignites your passion for STEM, go for it! If your academic or social battery is running low after a full school year, take the time you need to relax and recharge.

Upper School principal Dr. DiBianca put it best in his Morning Meeting notes from the last day of the 2020-2021 school year: “We hope that your summer is filled with a healthy mixture of relaxation, growth, and enjoyment. For your own sake, I hope you don’t do academics all summer. Try growing and getting life experience in other ways — get a job or internship, do community service, go on a wilderness adventure, start a company, create a website, write a book or play.”  Even though summer has come and gone, and some of us feel tired and stressed already, these ideas remain true: during weekends, breaks, and days off, strive to find a balance between being academically productive, spending time with friends and family, and making time for the rest and relaxation you need and deserve.