Three months ago, I decided to adopt a personal motto: work hard, play hard, go hard. Throughout the summer, I managed to stick to this mantra, and, conveniently enough, my time spent working, playing and going managed to coincide exactly with the months of June, July and August, respectively. Now, as my farmer’s tan begins to fade and my warm-weather bikini bod gives way to autumn blubber, it is with great nostalgia that I share with you some of the highlights of Summer 2012. JUNE: Work Hard In the fashion of a true Andover student, I spent much of June doing community service, and, with the help of part-time swimmer and full-time cutie Ryan Lochte, launched a non-profit organization called “Just Keep Swimming.” By using advanced levee technology, Ryan and I were able to effectively turn the nooks and crannies of his chiseled abdomen into swimming pools for underprivileged ants to use as a safe place to escape the hot weather and enjoy some good, clean fun. JULY: Play Hard Having spent many long hours planning and constructing the facilities for “Just Keep Swimming” together, it was only natural that Ryan and I became romantically involved during the month of July. We spent our afternoons eating ice cream (he’d order seven scoops), walking on the beach and playing a little role-play game called Shamu the Whale in which he let me cling onto his back as he swam laps in the pool. Unfortunately, our relationship came to a bitter end when he claimed he needed to go to London for the Olympics. It was obviously a lie, because everyone knows the Olympics only come every 3.14 years, but our relationship was over it in a matter of days. AUGUST: Go Hard My parents were out of town for an entire week in August, and during that time I definitely went HAM. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, I’m not talking about the pork product. I mean the acronym for Hard As Marble. My friends and I went HAM with games of Boggle, Scrabble and even a little bit of co-ed Twister. Unsupervised. Uncensored. Unlimited Sprite for all. Even though summer’s over and school is back in session, we needn’t be glum. The Triple-H motto will live within me, and it can live within you, too. Whatever you do this year, do it big. Make it memorable. Enjoy your school year, and remember: stay hard, Andover.
