"A writer, I think, is someone who pays attention to the world."~ Susan Sontag

Summer should be about experiences. 

In that spirit, the MHS English Department welcomes you to our summer experience experiment. 

This year, in addition to offering some suggested titles, we are suggesting some summer experiences. We recommend that you try one- or many. We encourage you to write about them in a notebook, to record your thinking, to reflect for yourselves. These experiences are for you and for your eyes only. We will not be collecting anything. There is no product for you to submit, nothing for you to upload to Google Classroom.  This experiment isn't a box for you to check off.  It's for you to try something new and to think about it, to indulge in being 15, 16, 17, or 18. 

Get out there. Have a summer. Experience it. And maybe even write about it. 

Possible Experiences: 

• Attend a summer festival. 

• Go to a museum or a historic attraction. Many of these places offer free days, so check ahead! 

• Sit on the beach and watch a sunrise.

• Run through a sprinkler.

• Do a slip and slide.

• Draw or paint something… even if you think it won’t look good! 

• Play a sport you've never played before with your friends.

• Build a sandcastle. 

• Read a book to a little kid- Where the Wild Things Are.

• Take a nap on a hammock (don’t worry about the dismount). 

• Write a poem and be brave enough to have someone read it.

• Go to a museum, find a piece you like, and research it more.

• Bike on the boardwalk. 

• Go outside and turn on DND.

• Watch a five star show.

• Spend a day without electronics. 

• Take a nature walk or hike, stop at some point, and journal.

• Go to the Farmer’s Market in Summit (Sundays, 8-1) and count dogs.

• Have a picnic in the park. 

• Play a board game ( a physical, non-electronic game) with friends or family.

• Spend an afternoon with a senior citizen and listen to the stories of their childhood. 

• Visit a new and unfamiliar historical site and read the inscriptions.

• Try VanLeuvwen ice cream on Main Street.

• Hang out with your siblings/cousins. 

• Go to a play.

• Spend a day walking around New York City. 

• Visit an NJ waterpark. 

•  Prepare a meal for your family or friends and then enjoy it with them. 

•  Spend an afternoon visiting all of the different parks in town. Rate the playgrounds. 

•  Plan a trip – map out the route, find places to stay, and points of interest to visit. 

Please feel free to check out these suggested titles as well!