It seems that since Aug. 28 last year, every student in a public Howard County school has been counting down the months, days, hours, minutes, seconds until June 13, or, as anyone younger than 18 will tell you, the official last day of school.

The past few weeks have been especially difficult, anticipation-wise. I've found myself sitting here, daydreaming of the soon-to-be carefree summer days. Because who doesn't love summer? And in honor of the coming season -- my favorite -- I decided to write about the top 10 reasons I am so excited for summer 2008

10. Finals are no longer hanging over my head. Seriously, there's nothing worse than approaching the end of the year -- perhaps even the very last day of school -- only to face a mountain of studying and the question: "Why didn't I study for my midterms back in January so I wouldn't have to worry about my grades now?"

9. Sleeping in. Enough said.

8. The satisfaction of being out at 11 p.m. on a weekday night. How often does that happen during the school year? Answer: not very.

7. Summer means going to Rita's anytime I want, at any time of day. The time when I'll be able to scarf down a Mango Italian Ice once, twice, three times a day can never come soon enough.

6. Living at the pool again. Whether I'm lifeguarding, teaching swim lessons, or just relaxing, I'm pretty much a pool rat in the summer. Nothing means summer more than an afternoon at Forest Hill Swim and Tennis Club.

5. I will be able to escape the inescapable pit of debt into which I have fallen since prom, by means of my steady summer paycheck. At the moment, I'm emerging from (financially) the bleakest time of the year -- when the money from last summer has long-since run dry and random baby-sitting jobs just won't cut it anymore. It'll be a relief to watch my first lifeguarding check pull me from the poverty status I've recently been thrust into because of ridiculous gas prices as of late.

4. It's always exciting to spend said money on those glorious pastimes that can really only be appreciated fully in those school-free months from June to August: summer concerts at Merriweather Post Pavilion, O's games at Camden Yards and the coveted Howard County Fair. Fighting the crowds to see OAR up close, watching Baltimore natives pick fights with those brave away-game fans, and riding The Zipper enough times to puke up all that greasy carnival food swallowed moments before -- what could be greater? And who could forget the novelty in blowing 10 bucks to see a movie in theaters?

3. The beach. Whether it's some exotic location off the coast of France, or just a trip down to Ocean City (which is sure to involve freezing cold water of a somewhat unidentifiable color and, oh, about 300 other beach-goers all competing for the same place to lay out their towel and pastel-colored umbrella), there's no way to not love the beach.

2. You know it's fun to complain about the heat and how buggy the evenings are getting, secretly not mind at all. After all, summer is my favorite season. I'd take a day reaching above a 100 degrees over a day with ice on the ground anytime. At least in the heat you can cool off in the ocean if you need to.

1. And finally, I absolutely love the freedom in not having a schedule. If there's one thing that summer vacations of the past have taught me, it's that there is nothing so exhilarating as spontaneity.

Sara Olson is a rising senior at Marriotts Ridge High School. You can e-mail her at cdumler@theviewnewspapers.com.

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