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An image of a slightly cloudy day in the middle of the Dartmouth Green with giant green letter spelling out DARTMOUTH in front of Baker-Berry Library

These past few days (and admittedly weeks), I've spent a significant portion of my time rereading old blog posts and pondering all that's happened during my first year at Dartmouth. On one hand, while I'm definitely excited about summer, saying goodbye to being a first-year certainly has a sad/sentimental undertone to it—I've met so many amazing people as well as made lifelong memories, it's hard to admit that this period of my life is coming to a close. Regardless, I've been trying to remind myself that I still have a lot of time left here and a lot to look forward to! Speaking of, you might ask, what are my plans for the summer/immediate future? 

This summer, I plan to go back home to Oklahoma and prioritize my time by hanging out with friends and family. While a decent amount of my peers are pursuing internships or other career-oriented opportunities, I plan on getting a job near my house at one of my favorite burger restaurants. I've received a variety of reactions to my plan, but with Dartmouth's quarter system, I've realized that realistically this is my last summer truthfully "up to me" considering Sophomore Summer obligations and other various career opportunities for upperclassmen; I'm happiest when I'm at home with friends and family, so working at home is a viable solution. On top of working locally, I plan on starting a small band with some high school friends as well as working on starting my first novel! I haven't worked out all the kinks yet, but I'm excited.

As summer is a decent chunk of time concerning Dartmouth's fast 10-week terms, I also plan to spend a lot of my time over the break thinking about how I want to get the most out of my next three years at Dartmouth. There are a few big questions I'm in the process of figuring out—for one, I'm still fairly uncertain of what I want to major in, although thankfully Dartmouth doesn't force students to declare until the end of their 5th term in residence (sophomore winter/spring). I'm also not sure whether or not I'd like to participate in Greek life. Greek life is a big deal at Dartmouth, and I'm still not sure whether or not it's the right space for me. Overall, sophomore year is a busy time of year at Dartmouth, so I plan on making the best of my summer and it treating it akin to a miniature gap year!

For my course load next fall, I'm not entirely sure what my schedule will look like, but as of right now, I plan on finishing my language requirement with Latin III (the culmination of the three-course Latin sequence at Dartmouth) and enrolling in two other courses that interest me.

All in all, I have a lot to think about, but I'm very grateful that I'm able to go home and contemplate these sorts of things while enjoying my summer. 

To send you off with one last message—I sincerely hope my first year of blogging at Dartmouth was both an informative and enjoyable experience for you. I had a lot of fun writing and documenting my journey as a first-year student, and I'm excited to continue next year. See you in the fall! : )

Your friend,

Garrett

A wide open view of the adjacent field to Occom Pond on Dartmouth's campus on a bright, sunny day
P.S. Enjoy this picture from one of my final Woccoms (walks around Occom Pond) this term

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