School is a place where kids go to learn many different things and get a chance to socialize with their peers. To do this, it requires waking up early in the morning and staying at school for around seven hours a day. In Alaska, it’s even worse because of our long, dark, and cold winter. The second the temperature drops a couple degrees or the sun goes down a minute earlier than it did in the summertime, students post about their plans after school ends. So far, the most popular topics seem to be traveling, swimming at lakes around Anchorage or Wasilla, and just going down to the fields or parks to play sports with friends.

Jack Opinsky, a senior at West Anchorage High says he wants this summer to be his best and most fun because after that he’s going to be college bound. Opinsky says, “I might go on a senior trip to Hawaii but other than that I’m going to be in Alaska.” He also mentions that he’s going to play baseball after high school, possibly for his future. In his spare time in Anchorage when nothing else is going on, he wants to spend it with his family.

Lindiana Dobrova, another 12th grader says her summer plans will mostly consist of working longer hours at work and hanging out with her friends in her spare time. With a busy schedule during school, she can’t work as much as she would like so she’s adding days to make more money. Dobrova plans on traveling as well saying, “I’m going to California with my family for sure and maybe to Albania.” Dobrova is going to California because her family has a tradition of going every summer to relax and get some sunlight. The reason Dobrova is going to Albania is because one of her family friends is getting married.

Juan Benitez, 18, says, “I’m going on a short vacation to Boston, Massachusetts but most of my summer will be spent in Dominican Republic.” Benitez is going to the Dominican Republic for many reasons. The most important reason to Benitez is visiting family the he hasn’t seen in over a year. Benitez’s cousin is having a wedding and is also taking part in a baseball training camp, like Dobrova. The rest of the duration of his summer, Benitez will hang out with his friends and camp somewhere with his family.

High school is a hard place to enjoy when you live in a place where we don’t see daylight for two months and temperatures dip below zero consistently. Seasonal depression is very common in Alaskans and talking about what you’re going to do in the summer helps make the long school year and winter feel like it goes by just that much quicker. It’s the little bit of hope we all need during these dark cold months.