Over the past couple of days I've had a lot of time to reflect, and I've come to a few conclusions.

For some reason, this year seems much more draining than any other. Everyone I've mentioned this to agrees with me. It seems like all of us are worn out, like we're sick of the institution and sick of each other. There seems to be a mutual animosity that's emerged just below the surface.

Time to make our lives our own again. If we stop allowing school to damage us, we stop empowering it. We need to reclaim our minds and our relationships, because school mentality will not stop until both are torn from us and mangled into something we don't even recognize. Time to start being interested in each other again. Time to start being kind. Time to start learning on our own, and learning from each other.

So this is what I ask of you all: do everything in your power to instill your lives with positive energy, however you may do that, because the rest of us will benefit and we can make our collective existence into something constructive, rather than the dreariness that it currently is. Our happiness is our own responsibility.

My dad gave in and booked another trip to Alaska this summer, same place we went last time.

I can't express what a relief it will be to fish there again, last trip was the most peaceful experience of my life.

I encourage all of you to try to seek out places like Kodiak, places of natural beauty. They've made such an impact on me.

Pictures