Summer is an excellent time for doing a variety of things. Taking time to relax from all the academic burdens of the previous year to the next is what a lot of people associate summer with, a time to let loose and have some fun. On the other hand, there are others who utilize summer to take advantage of new found learning opportunities or further apply themselves in some manner. Regardless, there are a nearly endless things that one could do over summer vacation, that is from a senior viewpoint.

Perhaps the typical senior vacation would be to have a senior trip. That’s exactly what senior Tyler Wong, Anthony Zhang, Benjamin Sun, and Alex Hong are doing over the summer. They’ll be traveling to Japan and South Korea for a total of three weeks to enjoy the diverse culture, food, and atmosphere that each of these countries provide. When asked about this trip, Tyler exclaimed that he was extremely excited, noting that it was a chance to finally explore a part of the world “on his own terms rather than being monitored by his parents as he had illustrated the responsibility needed to go to a foreign country on his own.” Moving on to Anthony, the incoming UC Berkeley undergraduate noted that it would be an experience unlike any other, one that he would cherish before moving onto college. This trip “would be one of the final moments for them to bond together” before each of them travel their separate ways. In  some sense, this trip would be like closure for four really close friends.

Of course, there are definitely more low-key summer plans that are available. Senior Kristen Halim planned on “chilling with her friends and sleeping in on school days.” She described that an average week in the summer would consist of her staying up past 12 and sleeping past 1. With entertainment such as upcoming Netflix shows, occasional deep emotional talks on Discord—a voiceware application—and meeting up to socialize and hangout with friends, Kristen says that her summer is set. But perhaps the one thing that Kristen looks forward to the most is her ability to travel outside Arcadia more frequently, to get outside the bubble and experience other city environments. From traveling beyond the San Gabriel Valley to try new restaurants or boba shops, to using the Metro to travel to all the aesthetic spots Downtown Los Angeles has to offer, Kristen feels that being a senior finally opens a whole new avenue of activities that she couldn’t previously do as a result of being a student of Arcadia High School. But with a short break between the end of school and college, she can’t wait to do all the new activities she’s planned.

Undoubtedly, there will always be those who are studious who would like to further apply themselves academically or vocationally. One such senior would be Daniel Ho. Over the summer, Daniel has received an internship at Cyberpower PC pertinent to focus on the business aspects of the company. Specifically, he wishes to further understand the costs associated with operating a business of this scale, further planning to understand how Cyberpower PC plans to maximize profits in the years to come as technology continually improves. Alongside this, Daniel also plans to continue investing in multiple companies via stocks. Already, the UC Berkeley undergraduate has made over $500 by keeping a close watch of the market for the firm he’s invested in. With both an internship and an investment portfolio to keep an eye on, Daniel is indubitably taking advantage of his summer to further himself academically speaking.

With countless activities to do, summer vacations are undoubtedly a time to treasure before the burdens and stress of school return in September.