Hello everyone! I am so excited to share my summer adventures with you all.
Throughout my life, summer has never been something to look forward to. Usually all of my friends went on exciting trips and I was always stuck at home, working and doing nothing. Not this year! I’ve always wanted a summer that I would never forget, and this year I think it’s safe to say that I will not forget this summer.
For me, summer started two weeks ago after my last high school final ever. It has only been two weeks and I feel like I’ve already had all the fun I could possibly have!
On the first day of summer, myself and a couple of my wonderful friends went to Letchworth State Park to see the beautiful views and hike on a couple trails.

Seeing Letchworth got me in the mood to go on more fun adventures with my friends. We decided to start doing as much as possible before we all left for our vacations this summer, and so we did!
We went to our first drive-in movie in a small town called Avon, about 25 minutes from Rochester (where I live). We all crammed into my friend Tim’s pickup truck and saw Now You See Me 2. The movie was mediocre but the experience was super fun.

Next on our list of summer adventures was to go to Grimes Glen, a park with a mile long creek walk, along with three different waterfalls to climb. I’ve been scared of heights my whole life, so climbing waterfalls did not seem to be up my alley. I tagged along anyway, and I’m so glad I did! I don’t know what inspired me, but I was able to climb up the steep and challenging ropes course that led up the waterfalls. It was terrifying, but I did it and it felt amazing to conquer one of my fears. The waterfalls were gorgeous and it was so refreshing to swim in the natural pools that formed at the bottom of each waterfall.


Our adventure continued through to that same evening, when we drove out to a town called Spencerport, 20 minutes away from Rochester. Here I conquered my fear of heights again… by jumping off of a bridge into a river (don’t worry, it was safe and legal!). Again, I was absolutely horrified at the thought of jumping off of a bridge. I told my friends that I would not do it. Luckily, I have amazing friends and they all jumped off the bridge first, showing me that it was fun. I still wasn’t convinced and I was just about ready to pee my pants, but I did it! I ended up jumping off two more times after my first jump. It was so scary but also exhilarating and again I felt so amazing about conquering my fear! The rest of the night I felt like I was on top of the world.
One of my favorite things to do in the summer is to watch the sun set over the many lakes that are nearby. After a couple of my friends’ graduation party, we all decided to watch the sunset over Ontario Lake in Webster, NY. It was an absolutely beautiful night. Being with my friends is my favorite thing, so watching the sunset over an incredible horizon was wonderful.

That just about wraps up what I’ve done with my summer so far, but there is so much more ahead! In exactly one week, my best friend Maggie and I will be traveling to Denmark to visit her exchange student from last year, Liva. The three of us had the best times last year together when Liva was here, so I’m beyond excited to spend two weeks together in Denmark! This is the first time I’ll be traveling outside of the country (besides Canada) and I’m extremely ecstatic.

After Denmark, I am going on a road trip with two of my friends, Mandy and Katie, to go visit a friend in Canada! I’m a big fan of road trips so that will be very fun. Besides that, my family and I will be going on our first family vacation at the end of July! Me, my parents, my two brothers, my sister-in-law, and my niece will all be traveling up to Maine and Boston to visit family and to relax at our favorite beach in Maine: York Beach. Besides all of that fun stuff, I’ll be hanging out with my adorable niece, Addison (I’m obsessed with her if you guys aren’t able to tell by all my snapchats), playing volleyball weekly at a local beach on Ontario Lake, and saying goodbye to all of my incredible friends who will be going to school all over the country. I’ll miss them but I’m super excited to make new friends and teammates at Geneseo this August! I can’t wait to meet you all and play the best sport in the world with you guys: VOLLEYBALL!
Kat Vernon, Freshman

