The best part about summer is that I can read what I want. I just finished Lock and Key by the phenomenal best-selling author, Sarah Dessen. Lock and Key is about a 17 year old girl named Ruby who was abandoned by her mother. Ruby is then moved to her sister’s custody where she plans to spend a couple months before her 18^th Birthday; once she is 18, she will not have to rely on anyone else, just herself, the way she likes it. Ruby cannot make her journey alone; she needs help. People are more than willing to help her, but will she let them? Will she let Nate, her genuine next door neighbor, help her? Will he receive help from her in return when he needs it most of all? I have now read all eight of Sarah Dessen’s novels. Lock and Key is my second favorite of her books after Someone Like You.

High schools require students to read classical, verbose, and difficult novels, and this causes students to forget the joy of reading. When I tell teens that I love to read, most of them tell me that they either hate to read or that they only have time to read their school books. I feel that I can only truly enjoy a novel if it is my choice to read it. I loved the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I was not “forced” to read it. I think high schools should allow students to read free choice books occasionally

I encourage you not to spend your entire summer on the computer, watching TV, playing video games, etc. Read a good book.

- Danielle Douvikas

Now that summer’s here, the last obstacles barring hours of Internet surfing are history, at least for the next few months. But before you rush out to check up on all of your friends online, think about the variety of ways you can change the world for the better, just by using your computer. Here’s a short run-down of websites that make a difference without even needing a credit card.

FreeRice (www.freerice.com): This website acts as a digital vocabulary test, offering one tricky word accompanied by four possible definitions. The twist to this site though is that for every correct match, the United Nations World Food Program donates twenty grains of rice to hungry people throughout the world. So, in under five minutes a day, you can help feed the world, in addition to boosting your vocabulary, which never hurts the next time an SAT or in-class essay rolls your way. Outcome: over 36 billion grains of rice have been donated to date.

GoodSearch (www.goodsearch.com): By far the most convenient of the sites I’ll list, GoodSearch is a charitable alternative to Google. In the space below the search bar, type in the name of your choice charity or foundation, and then for every search you make on that site, one cent will be donated to that organization. Too lazy to stand up to that Google bar in the corner of your browser? Go to GoodSearch and download the application that gives you a GoodSearch bar in that corner instead, so that all of your searches can help the world. (If you’re out of ideas, try selecting Heifer International, which donates animals to third-world areas in order to boost agriculture and food production.)

One (www.one.org): By signing your name and e-mail address to this site, you will be included in one of the largest movements to pass legislature that benefits the poor and the hungry throughout the world. Mass petitions go straight to your inbox, where you can add your name if you want to, or just go to the website and brush up on the issue if you’re out of the loop.

Click to Give: This series of five sites is strung together by a common button that, when clicked, donates to each respective site. Every click, for example, on the Animal Rescue Site donates 0.6 bowls of food to rescued animals, while every click on the Rainforest Site works towards saving 11.4 square feet of rainforest. You can also work towards helping the world through the Literacy Site, the Hunger Site, the Child Health Site, and the Breast Cancer Site. And for more incentive, if the Breast Cancer Site garners 8 million clicks by the end of June, its primary sponsor will donate $10,000 for additional free mammograms.

So the next time you’re online, just think about the difference you can make by spending time on one of these sites.

To all lifeguards who were ever on duty while the eight-year-old me was in the pool:

I apologize for all of the afternoons I spent with my friends seeing who could float like a dead person or stay on the bottom of the pool the longest. I have to admit, it was a pretty fun way to spend the afternoons. But after spending one of my first days as a lifeguard breaking up 8th grade “dead man float” competitions, I realize that I’m probably responsible for a few heart attacks.

And a future warning: at public pools, please don’t pretend to be dead. It sounds obvious enough, but most people never realize the harm until they step up into the guard chair. After all that practice, you might be too convincing and cause a big mess. Plus, going off the diving board is much more fun anyway.

And I do not do well with change.
 

My brother, Taylor, who is only 18 months older than me is graduating. I cannot believe it. We attend a small private school and are only one grade apart which means our paths cross quite often each day at school.  Now, he is preparing to move on and leave me behind.  How did the time go by so fast?

 
It feels like it was just yesterday that we were both toddlers and Taylor had to try to stop me from eating my play-do. One day he ripped off all the heads of my Barbie dolls, which was really funny at the time, but made me cry later when I went to play with the headless Barbies. I remember the time my brother and I were running around the fireplace, and I pushed him accidentally into the fireplace. I still feel awful everytime I see the scar from the stitches on the back of his head (sorry Taylor, my bad).

When we were about 11 and 12, we would have intense water balloon fights, which he always ended up winning regardless of my great efforts. When he was 12, he persuaded me to “roast marshmallows” with him by placing a plastic bag of marshmallows on top of a lamp, and we nearly burnt the house down. We were not the average brother and sister. We rarely fought; we were friends. In public, I am quite shy. When I am with my brother, I am quite different, more myself. He, on the other hand, is really outgoing.

 The summer before seventh grade, I would pitch to him (always wearing a helmet for my protection) to improve his baseball. He taught me how to throw a football pretty well which was awesome. I loved to race him in the swimming pool. I am not so sure he liked it because he could never quite beat me in swimming (even to this day, lol).

 
When we started high school, I became even closer to him. We had German together for three years where he sat next to me. I take full credit for helping him achieve a B+ grade in the class. He is a very fun person, but at times too social. I helped him focus and forced him to study. We spent many late nights trying to master this difficult language.

 
Sometimes people would say to me, “You must hate having a class with your brother. I could not handle having a class with one of my siblings.” I would respond with, “Surprisingly, it’s a lot of fun.”  I just cannot imagine what it will be like when my brother is away at college, and I will be in high school without him. I will not see him in the hallway yelling my name out to embarrass me. I will not be able to get on him for not doing his homework or driving too fast. He is nice to me always; he is never mean to me.

I went to my first prom this year, and we both saved a dance for each other. It makes me sad to know he will not be at the school dances next year. I always take a picture with my brother before going to dances; it has become such a norm. Now I will not have my brother in my photos. I turned seventeen a couple weeks ago and my brother woke me up early to surprise me with a trip to Country Waffles for a birthday breakfast. I will always remember that breakfast.

 
I feel like my brother’s graduation will mark the end of our childhood and the beginning of adulthood for the both of us. Sure, he will still come visit me, but I will never be able to return to the days when my brother and I were mischievous little kids, partners in crime. We are not children anymore. The end of my junior year and Taylor’s senior year means that I have to start preparing for college, another chapter in my life filled with completely new people. I will inevitably forget half the people I was friends with in high school, but my brother will always be a part of my life.

My grandmother always told me, “You are my blood.” I never did understand what she meant by this, but now I realize that she meant that I am family and I am her first priority. I do not think I will ever have a friend that loves me as much as my brother does. If someone hurts me, he has my back. 

 
So, Taylor when you go to college, try not to get kicked out of class after only thirty seconds like last Wednesday. If you ever need help with homework, call me, or if you have girl issues call me, or if you need money, food or fashion advice, call me, or – Taylor, just call me…

– Danielle Douvikas