Jennifer Yang (12)
What was your favorite activity this summer?
“My favorite thing to do was catching up on sleep! In the beginning of summer, I slept around 10 hours a day, which then gave me enough energy to start writing my college essays and studying for the Health Occupation Student Association International Leadership Conference.”
What did you dislike about this summer?
“I did not like how summer flew by! I wish I was able to spend more time with my friends and it made me appreciate those summer days that I had.”
What foods did you enjoy eating this summer?
“I enjoyed trying different types of food when I spent time in Tennessee. My favorite was ice cream from a shop that had so many different flavors and toppings for an extremely cheap price.”
Did you learn any piece of advice this summer?
“I learned to appreciate the people around me. I am lucky to have spent time with my friends throughout the summer and my friendships are one of the most important things in my life.”
How was this summer different compared to previous summers?
“I would say that this summer was more stressful. I spent the majority of my time thinking about college applications, which was the major cause of my stress.”
Katie Tao (12)
How did you spend your summer?
“Before summer started, I was working with my Code Team to prepare for our two camps, one for elementary students and one for middle and high school students. I also spent much time writing my college essays and working at CodeNinjas. To further explore my interest in Cognitive Science as a major, I took Social Psychology at Mt. Sac. I also got to take Taekwondo classes again!”
What did you enjoy doing the most?
“It was the little memories we made at code camp that made the time spent enjoyable, such as bringing them down to the senior tables during their break to go “sightsee” the vending machines. When you work with kids, they make you forget deadlines or stressful responsibilities–you get a chance to let loose and laugh a lot.”
Do you feel like this summer was different now that you are a senior?
“Knowing that this is my last year, I treasured the time I spent with friends much more. I am lucky to have gotten a chance to know these people, and even more lucky to have made these memories with them. I do not know if I will be able to keep in touch with the same people in a few years, so I am making the most out of it whenever I can.”
What is your summer playlist?
“I had a focusing playlist with game original soundtracks, such as Undertale and Minecraft. I also had an English playlist with mainly BoyWithUke and Rory Webley and one for Stray Kids. Sometimes, I loop a song for hours—this happens often when I am drawing and get too lost in it.”
Do you feel like you have changed this summer?
“Maybe it is the senioritis —I do not feel too bothered by classes. I did not realize that school was starting the day before August 3rd until near midnight. I used to get materials before school started but I got them two weeks after school started this year. I guess another change was learning to manage and plan events better after my experience this summer. “
Alvin Tang (12)
What was most enjoyable about summer?
“What was most enjoyable was hanging out with my friends, celebrating birthdays and going ice skating.”
How did you connect with friends during the summer?
“I went out with my friends multiple times including ice skating, going to the gym and getting boba.”
Did you spend money on anything this summer?
“I bought AirPods!”
What are you looking forward to in school the most?
“I am most excited about graduating from high school and what the future has in store for me.”
Aaron Yang (12)
What did you like most about summer?
“The one thing I liked most about the summer was going back to marching band.”
What was one significant memory that you made?
“One significant memory that I made over the summer was being able to perform at the 4th of July Parade.”
What is one thing that you are proud of that you accomplished over the summer?
“One thing I am proud of that I have accomplished over the summer was being able to finish online college courses.”
What was one thing that made you laugh a lot this summer?
“One thing that made me laugh a lot this summer was being able to play games such as Valorant with my friends.”
Janice Liu (11)
What was your favorite pastime during the summer?
“ My favorite pastime during the summer was drawing and playing video games with my friends.”
What was your favorite event during the summer?
“My favorite event during the summer would have to be any Kiwins’ event that I attended because I got to make new friends and get some service hours.”
How did you stay in contact with friends over the summer?
“I stayed in contact with my friends through texting, phone calls and finding time to see each other in person even if it was only a few times a month. We also would play games together to feel connected.”
What snacks or food did you enjoy eating over break?
“Popsicles and other frozen snacks were definitely the best when I was working or hanging out in the summer. I also drank a lot of boba over break.”
Nicole Li (11)
What did you enjoy the most about summer break?
“I enjoyed having time to myself and hanging out with friends.”
What had you wished you had done differently in the summer?
“I wished I took less classes during the summer since it almost felt like school.”
How did you relax during the summer?
“I played games 24/7 with friends.”
What are you looking forward to most this school year?
“I look forward to all the school activities like rallies and the football game.”
Kenny Liu (11)
What was your favorite activity over the summer?
“The most exciting thing I did over summer had to be the time I spent learning Blender (the software) and finally being able to use one of my favorite hobbies, 3D modeling to create art.”
What advice did you learn over the summer?
“I learned that it is inevitable that large sacrifices and failures will occur and the best thing to do is to accept them, move on and learn from them. I failed the driving test once, but I looked at the x marks and took the time to fix them and come back again.”
What is your favorite item you bought over the summer?
“I did not buy anything that was important or valuable over the summer.”
What was one thing you did not enjoy about this summer?
“I definitely did not enjoy the tiring amount of time repeatedly driving around different areas every day to get enough training for my driver’s license. But hey, that is life.”
Have you felt like you changed this summer?
“In terms of stress YES. Other than that, spending time doing 3D art, acquiring my driver’s license, and many other very time-consuming tasks. I can only feel how valuable and precious time really is.”
Wesley Fang (11)
How did you spend your summer?
“I mostly stayed home while playing video games with my friends.”
What were the best parts about summer vacation?
“The best part of summer vacation would be going to Huntington Beach two days in a row each with a different group of friends.”
What did you do over summer break?
“I mostly stayed home while playing video games with my friends.”
What was your favorite food during summer?
“My favorite food during summer is definitely watermelon. It is so refreshing.”
Is summer your favorite season? Why or why not?
“No, summer is not one of my favorite seasons. The heat beats me up.”
Reese Chiu (10)
How was your summer?
“My summer was alright, it was better than last year because I did not have summer school. I overall had more time to relax and do whatever I wanted to do.”
What was your summer playlist?
“I did not have a summer playlist, but my friend and I made a collab playlist.”
Did you have any new hobbies?
“I would not call this a hobby but I thought skateboarding was pretty fun and I tried it during the summer.”
What was the most memorable part of your summer?
“The most memorable part of my summer was going to Raging Waters with my friends.”
Christian Sentosa (10)
What was your favorite activity over the summer?
“My favorite activity was learning how to BBQ meat!”
What is one advice or life lesson you learned over the summer?
“An advice I learned is that you should just enjoy what others want you to do.”
What was your favorite food you had over the summer?
“[My favorite food] definitely was smoked brisket.”
What is one thing you did not enjoy about this summer?
“I honestly loved my summer and did not really think of any summer downtime.”
What are you excited about for the new school year?
“I am excited to be more engaged in the school such as joining the Mock Trial team and the culinary team.”
Hedy Yang (10)
Who was the person you spent the most time with this summer?
“Over the summer I spent a lot of time with my family. School was a little stressful and I had to cram a lot, but summer opened up a lot of possibilities for me and my family to just go places.”
What was your favorite event this summer?
“My favorite event this summer was the 626 Night Market. It was my first-night market experience since Covid-19. I spent a lot of money, ate a lot of food and had lots of fun.”
What was your favorite item bought over the summer?
“Over the summer I asked my parents for AirPods. Wired earbuds were annoying to put on and I can not charge them in. I like listening to music, so AirPods was a great purchase. It even came with six months of free Apple Music.”
Choose 3 words to describe this summer.
“Refreshing, lazy, leisurely.”
What was your favorite place to get drinks/snacks this summer?
“I love making trips to Quickly. It is a great place for quick drinks and quick snacks.”
Josephine Tsai (10)
What did you enjoy the most this summer?
“I enjoyed going on a cruise trip around the Caribbean Sea.”
What do you miss most about the summer?
“What I miss most is being able to sleep for a long time.”
What was one thing you did not get a chance to do over the summer but wished you did?
“I wished that I was not really lazy and actually went to the gym every day.”
How does it feel being back in school?
“[Being back in school] feels kind of exciting but also busy being back in school.”
What are you looking forward to most in school?
“I look forward to fun things such as new clubs and HOSA!”
Ethan de la Cruz (9)
What was your summer playlist?
“Just all the Bruno Mars songs because I think Bruno Mars is so cool.”
What was something you did not do in the summer?
“I did not cheat on my summer school assignments.”
What was one significant memory you made?
“I finally got to see my elementary school friends for the first time in three years.”
Did you go anywhere memorable?
“I went on a cruise to Mexico. I also visited Las Vegas and San Diego.”
What is one thing you are proud of that you accomplished this summer?
“I am proud that I completed my first high school class.”
Teddie Shi (9)
Did you mostly stay indoors or outdoors during summer?
“I mostly stayed outdoors, either at the gym or at school for football camp.”
How did you change (or did not change) this summer?
“I changed a lot this summer. Physically I got a lot more fit and in shape, but I also took some time to work on myself and I can confidently say I am a different person coming out of summer break.”
What was one significant memory you made?
“One significant memory I made this summer was watching Rise of Gru with my friends. My friends Brian Silva and Aaron Li wore banana outfits together with me.”
Did you go anywhere memorable?
“I did not really travel much during this summer.”
What is one thing you are proud of that you accomplished this summer?
“I am also proud that I was able to fix most of the poor habits I had prior to the summer. I am also proud that I was able to make a change for myself.”
Leticia Hsieh (9)
What did you enjoy most about this summer more than any other summer?
“I enjoyed going to summer band and band camp because I made new friends.”
What was the one thing you did over the summer that you did not get a chance to do with school?
“One thing that I got to do over the summer that I did not get to do during the school year is sleeping late.”
What was your favorite food during summer?
“My favorite food was ice cream because it was really hot this summer! Eating ice cream felt good and helped me cool down.”
Now that we are back in school, what are you looking forward to the most?
“I am looking forward to learning new things and making new friends.”
