When I was younger I used to spend my summers on the UIC Campus, attending Apachi Jewish Day Camp for weeks at a time while holding lemonade stands on my off-days. From time to time my mother, at my begging, would take out sidewalk chalk and write addition problems on the warm concrete. At the age of seven or eight I enjoyed going to school.  I enjoyed the mathematics I got there so much that I worked on it over the summer.  Willingly.

Life has changed quite a bit since the summer of 2009. Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran have replaced the Black Eyed Peas and Sean Kingston, the iPhone 3GS is now more of a relic than a must-have, and I’m no longer a summer student. In the years following sidewalk math, I’ve lost my sense of wonderment with school and now take summer as a refuge rather than a time to work.

But as a rising junior I’ve felt a need to challenge my school-free ideals of a summer without responsibilities and work. After spending five summers away at overnight camp, laughing at the mention of writing or tests, I’m now faced with the challenge of the ACT and the preparation it entails.

As they have evolved, college entrance exams have come to entail far more than just the actual test. For many, myself included, the tests are the result of months of preparing through practice tests, studying, and tutoring.

At present I’m stuck at a crossroads. One path leads to a summer spent at home, tutoring a few times a week while spending time with family, at baseball games, and preparing my college test of choice: the ACT. The other trail takes me to camp, spending time with friends I rarely get to see and enjoying a life of waterskiing, high ropes, and ukulele while ignoring the academics looming back home.

While the ACT would be involved, it would take up only a few sessions per week in addition to regular homework. The rest of my time at home would be spent on other “mature” practices like finding a job or taking an internship.

A summer course of study would likely result in my taking a test in September or December, hopefully receiving the score for which I’m aiming, and completing (nearly all) college testing by the first semester of my junior year. Not only would a summer spent studying ease the burden of my junior year, the absence of academics would allow me to be much more efficient during the summer than I ever would be during the school year.

On the other hand my opportunities to spend summer as a camper are dwindling.  This season is my penultimate opportunity as I age out of the camp’s population. The time I have to completely disconnect from the outside world and enjoy life with camp friends is undoubtedly valuable, providing experiences available for only the next two years.

If I fill my summer with campfires and waterskiing but return to find myself overworked during junior year and having difficulty achieving my target score, will I regret spending time away at the detriment of my future self?

Conversely, if I throw myself into tutoring and academic rigor but ultimately wind up achieving my goal in September, will I regret not going away and making the most of summer?

I’m still at a crossroads. After seeking advice from my parents, other students, a tutor, and soon college counseling, the decision remains mine and mine alone to make. Ultimately I am the one who will have to live with the summer of 2017 and all that comes from it.

I’m tentatively leaning towards spending the summer at camp–with a slight caveat. While my summers in Maine are perhaps the happiest weeks of my year, I’d hate to sacrifice pragmatism for happiness.

As a result, I’m interested in exploring the possibility of bringing prep resources to camp, thus enabling me to maintain a regiment of study. Motivating myself to buckle down and work wouldn’t be easy, but the reward of being able to spend seven weeks away certainly outweighs any minimal responsibility.

With age comes responsibility–the carefree days of lemonade stands and sidewalk math are well behind me. In living out the remainder of my high school years, striking a balance between work and pleasure will be of the utmost importance for the first time in my life.

When I began writing this article, I was legitimately unsure how to spend my summer. It was a topic I’d avoided, and I’d hoped to procrastinate until a solution fell in my lap. After speaking with a number of different students and individuals familiar with the process, I chose to spend my summer away at camp.

The road I’ve decided upon isn’t for everyone, but I feel that it represents the ideals I hold close to my heart. After nearly ten months of rigorous school work, taking a little bit of time off serves to rehabilitate and relax students who all too often find school to be consuming. I’ll be spending my summer without the burden of school.  And enjoying every minute.