Summer Ambitions

That's right, summer. That inexpressibly beautiful time of year when everything seems as if it should be vintage. Lovely 70s-like pictures from the beach, retro Volkswagen vans, Wayfarers, and droll summer light dancing on the ground. Summer is also comprised of good books on rainy days when you read by the lamp light, stormy nights when the power goes out and you only have hurricane lamps and flash lights to see things with. Gardens with beans hanging drowsily from the stems and tomatoes smiling with their beautiful red faces.
Yes, summer is a lovely time. And for me, it's always been a lazy time. A time to relax and prepare for the next school year. However, this year, I have no choice but to be industrious. As much as I would love to spend my afternoons looking at retro pictures from the 60s on Pinterest or watching sweet summer flicks like The Last Song, I have no choice this summer but to spend my time well. And quite honestly, I'm glad. My senior year is approaching and I need to be used to having a strict schedule that I follow daily.
My main goal this summer is to spend my time preparing for what I'm planning on majoring in in college. If my plans stay the same, I will be double majoring in Art History and English and minoring in photography. Because of these plans, I want to make my summer revolve around art, literature, and photography. Although I do have other plans, I'm trying to prepare myself for what lies ahead. I'm trying to build my skills up so that I will be prepared for college when I leave.
So without further adieu, here is a list of things I want to do this summer:

1. Spend one day a week doing four to five hours of school and spend at least three other days out of the week doing one to two hours of school.
The reason I have to do this is I have to complete two more maths before I graduate (or I want to), and I can't do it all in one year. Also, I want to complete chemistry and possibly start on economics this summer so that I can take more dual enrolled classes next year at my local community college.
2. Develop a quiet time each morning.
I will admit, with quite a bit of shame, that I have been quite slack in spending time with God this school year. As many excuses as I could give, they're not good enough, as God should always be first in my life. I know I'll be in college soon, and I'll be solely responsible for my spiritual life. I want to focus on spending time with God this summer. Facebook and Pinterest can wait until later.
3. Spend at least one hour a day doing photography and art.
As I said, I want to focus on my art this summer. I have never been a natural artist - I don't draw well, I can't paint to save my life, and I can't imagine that I'd be terribly talented with pastels or charcoal, or really any other medium for that matter. But I believe I can develop those, and I'd at least like to try to, since I'll have to take at least one or two studio art classes in college and I don't want to humiliate myself. Besides, these are my passions, and I believe God has placed these loves in my heart for a reason.
4. Translate Latin two to four days a week.
I'm taking my last Latin class next year, which will be my fourth year in Latin. And not only will it be Latin, but it will be AP Latin. Yes, I'm taking an AP Latin class and taking the AP test for it. I'm insane. I know. But since I will be doing that, I want to keep the grammar and vocabulary fresh in my mind. In order to keep it all in mind, I will be translating Winnie the Pooh from Latin. Oh yeah. I'm just that freaking awesome.
5. Read at least one or two hours a day. Complete 20-40 books.
I have been terribly slack on my reading this past year, and I miss it. I absolutely adore reading, especially some good 'ol depressing books like Animal Farm, The Great Gatsby, Lord of the Flies, and such lovely books as those. *wink* Okay, so I do enjoy other books. I'm game for anything by Dickens, Austen, Montgomery, Alcott, Lowry, Bronte, Shakespeare, Lewis.... okay, so I'm game for a lot of books. I want to build up a great reading list to submit to any colleges that may want to see one. I'll be putting a list below my goals for this summer of books that I'm considering reading.
6. Learn at least one or two George Winston songs.
So... not many people know this yet, but I quit taking piano lessons. I haven't really enjoyed taking lessons for quite a while now. I don't like it that I have to practice. I'd rather decide when and what I want to play. Even though I quit taking lessons, I want to keep playing at least some, because I do enjoy playing the piano. I'm planning on learning a few songs this summer to add to my repertoire so that if someone begs me to play, I'll have something to play for them.

And those are my main goals for the summer! I have a few more that I may or may not do, depending on how much time I end up having after completing all of those things.

As for books that I want to read this summer, here is a list I have compiled. I may end up reading other books, these are just some ideas that I had:
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
The Christian Mind - Harry Blamires
The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck
What is Art? - Leo Tolstoy
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne
Walden - Henry David Thoreau
Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Red Pony - John Steinbeck
Freckles - Gene Stratton-Porter
State of the Arts - Gene Edward Veith
The Innocence and Wisdom of Father Brown - G.K. Chesterton
Orthodoxy - G.K. Chesterton
Mansfield Park - Jane Austen
The Purpose of Man - A.W. Tozer
Number the Stars - Lois Lowry
The Story Girl - L.M. Montgomery
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Anne Bronte
The Law of Kindness - Mary Beeke
Eight Cousins - Louisa May Alcott
Dracula - Bram Stoker
Messenger - Lois Lowry
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
Miracles - C.S. Lewis
The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Foundling - Charlotte Bronte
The House of Seven Gables - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway
The Last of the Mohicans - James Cooper
Our Town - Thornton Wilder
The Death of Ivan Ilych - Leo Tolstoy
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller
Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
1984 - George Orwell
The Pearl - John Steinbeck
Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
Counterfeit Gods - Timothy Keller
Shadow of the Almighty - Elisabeth Elliot
Agnes Grey - Anne Bronte
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
The Hunchback of Notre Dame - Victor Hugo

Obviously I will not be reading all of these books, but I thought it worth my while to write out a long list anyway. I'm still in the process of finishing a few books before the summer begins, and I have a little less than a week to do so. But we'll see how that goes.

Our home school graduation is on Saturday, and my brother, cousin, and one of my best friends are graduating! Can't believe it. I'll most likely be doing a post on that sometime next week, though you may not be able to expect it until sometime after Tuesday, as I have an AP to prep for. After that, it will be summer time, and you will most likely expect more from me.

Hope you all have lovely evenings! Cheerio!