The summer of 2012 will be one that
I will not forget anytime soon. My
life was mainly revolved around work, about two weeks of vacation, a couple
days of professional job shadowing, watching sporting events (the NBA Finals,
the Reds, and the Olympics), and I even found a girlfriend ;).
I held two different jobs this
summer, even though my dad claims that I hardly ever worked for him—I disagree
with his sentiments. My dad owns
and run a used car dealership, Remy’s Used
Cars, in my hometown of Waverly, Ohio. My work for him included running errands, washing and
vacuuming cars, and doing whatever else he wanted me to do. In reality, I was his personal servant
for the summer, but I cannot complain too much due how well he paid me.
The other job I held was for my
uncle at his family camping resort—Long’s
Retreat Family Resort; my responsibilities for him included everything from
lifeguard to go-kart attendant to garbage man with anything and everything in
between—no job or favor was out of the question while working there. Even though my wages were based on
minimum wage hours, most of the fun I had this summer was while working out
there. My dad would constantly
yell at me for spending all of my time there, but if you look at the two
different environments, nobody can blame me…I get to work with girls in bikinis
all day versus grumpy old men and mechanics at my dad’s car lot. Who can blame a college guy for making
that easy decision?
Our main vacation was our annual
family cruise out of Boston to Canada.
Even though the boat went to Canada in the middle of the summer, we
cannot complain because my grandparents pay for all nineteen of my mom’s side
of the family to cruise. To try to
spruce up the Canadian vacation, my family decided to leave a couple days early
to tour Niagara Falls and Boston before the boat departed. It was our first family trip to
Niagara, so it was a necessary stop on the way. However, the day and half in Boston was the key to the
vacation. Touring Fenway Park and
attending a come-from behind Red
Sox win was one of the highlights of this year, let alone vacation. My family then decided to take a
running 5k tour of Boston, instead of the traditional route of touring. Boston, Niagara Falls, and the cruise
itself (I refuse to acknowledge and erasing from my memory that we actually
stopped in Canada during the cruise, so I am just going to reference the time
spent on the boat) were memorable family bonding times that I will cherish. Other vacation days were few and
far between with my work schedule; I was only able to go to one Reds’ game and
a single trip to King’s Island this summer.
Besides working, I tried to use
this summer to figure out my future.
I was not as successful as I wanted to be in this endeavor. I job shadowed a sports medicine doctor
at my local hospital, and it turned out that I could possibly seeing myself in
that profession for the next 30ish years.
I initially had wanted to shadow a couple physical therapists this
summer, but scheduling and the short summer did not allow that to happen;
however, I am planning on volunteering at the Wexner Medical Center in the
sports medicine department helping physical therapists, so I am hoping that all
works out in my favor.
In the short nine weeks that they tried to pass off as a
summer break, I did not find the meaning to my life or what the future may hold
for me. However, I tried not to
waste my time knowing how precious, and rare, relaxation time is for a college
student. This summer was full of moments and memories that will help shape me
into a better man. The different
types of individuals I worked with and the customers I served allowed me to grow
my patience, understanding, and knowledge of unfamiliar situations with
“unique” individuals. Even though work
dominated my life this summer, I was still able to enjoy myself as a big kid
that I still am. As this summer
comes to end, I can only hope that a longer summer in 2013 can top this
one.
