Tomorrow is my last day at school, so I've spend most of my day reflecting on this year and what I'm going to do over the summer. Most of my high school friends aren't going to be in town, so I will be almost on my own. I'm really bummed about this, but it's also inspiring me to actually be productive and get stuff done for once. Last summer, all I did was work at Staples and water my mom's flowers. Thus, I have come up with four main goals to accomplish from May to August:

1) Get a job / get an internship / go to summer school: I really really really would like to do something cosmetics related to make monies, but since the economy is in the toilet now, I'll take anything I can get. If I can't get a job, I might try for an internship at the Dayton Art Institute. And if that doesn't happen, I need to learn Italian if I want to study abroad in the spring, so I could always do it over the summer.

2) Learn to cook: I feel like such a poseur; I love to read about food, look at cookbooks, watch cooking shows, go out to eat, and stuff my face. But I can't actually cook anything outside of fruit salad and instant rice. This summer, so help me, I will learn to how make a basic chicken dish if it kills me.

3) Be active / lose weight: I'm aiming for about 10 pounds off what I am now. I'm not really overweight, but I'm rounder than I would like to be. I also am pretty frickin' lazy, so I need to actually get up off the couch and do stuff. Aiming for hitting the Y at least twice a week. I would also like to eat better - less fast food and candy, more veggies and grains.

4) Reading at least 20 books: I have a huge library of stuff that I haven't read because I'm always busy with books for my English classes. Reading for fun is a huge luxury and one that I intend to take full advantage of this summer.

I know it seems like a lot, but I think the key here is momentum. If I can start with some of these things and keep them up, I think I actually have a chance of achieving what I want to. I always seem to make grandiose plans for my summers, but I really think I have a shot at doing some of this stuff this time.

Mood excited Music Werewolves and Lollipops - Patton Oswalt Tags: life at home, work?