My Summer Vacation
July
Week One
My first week in July started off really slow for a summer. I'd trapped myself in my room with only my computer and piano.
I decided to spend some time this week on my computer: researching some colleges for senior year and SAT study resources for my next SAT exam.
After a bit of that, I decided to unwind and play some video games on my computer. I even went on the Internet to research for future game releases for me to anticipate.
Aside from playing video games, I also decided to familiarize myself with politics and finance for my future(not for a career, but just for knowledge).
I didn't dwell too much into these topics, but just enough so I'm not clueless.
I mainly focused on finance due to the fact that, like every adult now and tomorrow, I'll be handling my own finances at some point and that's not something I should be ignorant about.
In short, this week was a bit productive.
Week Two
This week was a slow week as I didn't do that much planning or researching. Instead, I practiced my piano.
When I first purchased it, I stuck to playing rock songs that had piano backing tracks so I can learn where the chords are and apply what I learned in my Music Theory class. It helped tremendously.
After a year of learning, I finally began to study classical repertoire and that's what I did the entire week.
I practiced pieces by composers such as:
- Frèdèric Chopin
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- and Ludwig Van Beethoven
Of course, they were pieces for beginners as I'm still not experienced enough.
In terms of piano-playing, this week was also very productive.
Week Three
At this point, I caught summeritis and stopped being even remotely productive.
Most of my time was spent either in bed(until 12P.M., which isn’t too bad considering most teenagers), or on the computer playing video games.
At one instance I did go to Staples to purchase school supplies, but that was it.
Week Four
During the last week of July, I spent most of my time studying for my driver's exam(written portion).
I eventually went during the week and passed the exam, leaving with my permit.
I was also notified by my CBE teacher when I'd start working, which was the beginning of next month(August 1st).
August
Week One
I started working this week and at first, it was stressful. Obviously, it was my first day and I was going to make mistakes; that was inevitable.
I had to answer phone calls and most conversations ended with me saying, “I have no idea, I’m sorry.” Vendors asked about my boss, his secretary, etc., and it was a nightmare.
I also had to stay on top of files my boss handed to me which, most of the time, I had no idea where to store them. I felt awful at the end of work this week, especially with the downtime and the absence of my boss(he's very busy).
Not only was this stressing me out, but I also had to be worried about school coming up and my trip to Chile later this month.
Week Two
My second and last week of work for the month(since I was going on vacation) and it was a lot more lenient since I knew what and what not to do when speaking to people over the phone and where all the files went.
In fact, there were a few days when my boss stayed in the office and we worked together, which made the job much more comfortable.
At this point, I also had my bank account set up so I was ready to receive my first paycheck when I arrived back from my trip to Chile, which begins the next week.
Week Three
This was all on Tuesday, and it was more of a procedure, so I'll list what we did by order:
- My family and I packed up and we head to the airport(Kennedy Airport in N.Y.).
- It was a tiresome journey because we had to take two separate flights; we all barely got any sleep.
- We finally arrived to Chile and we rented a car for the two weeks were staying.
- We then drove to my grandparents' home and we stayed there for the trip.
Week Four
Almost halfway through the trip and I haven't done much. Thankfully, my brother invited me out with his grandmother to explore parts of Chile as I’m not familiar with the country.
We observed a lot of the European architecture and also visited a couple of museums on the history of the country.
Very insightful and exciting trip thanks to him.
The next week, I left Chile with my father and sister due to school and work while my brother and mother stayed over there until October.
Now, here I am.
Picture of Valparaiso, Chile.
Written by C.B. - 9/23/2015