2018-06-17

【Aiden in English】

        When summertime comes around, everyone has one destination in mind: the beach. The beach becomes an annual trip during the summer of every year, in which my family takes three or four trips in a month. I enjoy the waters, the feeling of freedom, and the numbing sensation as your lower body loses circulation in the frigid ocean. 

        This year, we are invited to a retreat in Atlantic City the day right after my 9th grade was over. It means that the entire family had to come in on Saturday. I wasn’t in the mood to swim, considering this summer has been the coolest one I’ve ever experienced by now. However, a few of my friends were going, so they could keep me entertained.

        While the water is still unbearably cold, I did bring a football to toss around. At first, I thought this entire trip was going to be a waste of time. However, when I got there, I let the vacation side of me flow. That involved throwing sand in your friend’s eyes, eating funnel cake, and not telling your mom where you are, even when she calls. We met new people on the beach, including some all-state football player, which was super cool. That dude had a cannon for an arm. We made a sandcastle, which I killed into my friend’s face as soon as it was completed. Worth it. Eventually, we got dinner and played card games until midnight. 

        An unusual day at the beach, but it does take my mind off one large concern: I’ve left Pennbrook Middle School for the last time on this past Friday. Although students become more and more detached from school as they grow older, Pennbrook really did make me feel special. I thought of it as the first time I could choose how much responsibility I could hold or I needed to bear. Now, a strange sense of relief has crashed upon me, and I’m not sure how to handle it. For once, I can relax and not worry about work… except summer reading and APUSH (AP U.S. History) homework. But I can procrastinate. 

        The next morning, I awoke at five in the morning to see the sunrise, which was nice, but anti-climactic. I personally don’t think to receive five hours of sleep for three minutes when the sky turns red is worth it, but I was forced to sprint to the edge of the boardwalk to avoid the buildings blocking the sun. 

        There is something poetic of looking at the sunrise on a beach, have the wind at your back, the waves lapping the sand. It was quite calming…until my friend slapped me on the back and yelled at me to get out of his picture. I think at that moment, that was when I finally accepted that summer was here, and I could take a breather. I’m not entirely sure how many more “breathers” I could have for the next three years of high school, but I know that things move quickly from now on.

        As for right now, I’m going to take this time to relax and breathe. Enjoy life before high school starts. Because I know I probably won’t after.

【紅霞譯文】

        當夏季來臨的時候，大家心嚮往之的勝地無外乎沙灘。每年暑假，沙灘變成千家萬戶必去無疑的場所，我家每個月甚至要去三、四趟。我喜歡在水裡摸打滾爬，享受自由自在的閒適情感，迷戀浸泡在冰冷海洋里下肢因血液循環不暢而引發的麻木快感。

        高一過後頭一天，我們應邀前往新州大西洋城避暑，也就是說周六那天全家老少務必趕到，我沒想下水游泳，畢竟今夏是迄今為止本人所經歷的最為寒冷的夏天，幸好幾位朋友也打算趕海，湊在一起準保熱鬧有趣。

        既然海水涼到無法忍受的地步，不如帶上橄欖球比劃兩下。起先我蠻以為此行純屬消磨工夫，然而一旦來到現場，我渾身上下洋溢出度假活力。其間少不了往哥們眼裡揚沙子，買份美式沙琪瑪打打牙祭；不告訴老媽自己到哪兒逍遙，即便她打電話查崗也是瞎子點燈白費蠟。我們在海邊結識了新朋友，包括若干賓州高中橄欖球選拔隊球員，簡直酷斃到極點，有個傢伙胳膊力壯如同火炮。我們攜手堆沙堡，待大功告成，我一巴掌把它拍到朋友臉上，不作不休。最後，大夥共聚晚餐，玩撲克牌遊戲直至深夜。

        沙灘上瘋玩一整天，讓我大腦暫時轉移了注意力：這個星期五我剛邁出賓溪初中校門，儘管隨着年齡增長，學生越來越疏遠學校，但賓溪初中卻在我心目中占據着特殊位置，我破天荒首次意識到身上的責任或肩上的擔子。現在一種莫名其妙的念頭閃現在腦海中，我不知道如何應對，至少這回我要及時行樂，把學習束之高閣……除了暑假閱讀和大學美國歷史預修課作業之外，不過能拖就拖。

        次日今天大清早因忙叨着要看日出，我五點鐘便爬了起來，精神可嘉，但違反常規。為了抓住三分鐘天空變紅短暫瞬間，我不但破費掉五個鐘頭飽覺，而且還得玩命狂奔木板人行道盡端以躲避樓房遮擋視線。

        海灘上的日出極具詩意，海風吹拂脊背，海浪輕拍沙灘，四周呈現出一派寧靜景色……直到朋友捶擊我後背一拳，並疾聲吼叫滾出鏡頭，我才終於意識到夏天來臨，可以隨心所欲。我拿捏不准未來三年高中生涯究竟能有幾回“隨心所欲”，但敢保證從即日起一切盡在神速變化之中。

        就目前現狀而言，一定要趁機放飛自我，在返校之前盡情享受生活，因為我心裡明白 “好景不長在，好花不常開”，今後恐怕更加如此。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2015：Rhodes—Island of the Knights, Greece(希臘羅得島—騎士之島)

2015: Rhodes—Grand Master of the Knights, GRC(希臘羅得島—大教長宮)

2015: Rhodes—Acropolis of Lindos, Greece(希臘羅得島—林都斯衛城)

2012: 摘草莓(Shady Brook Farm)

Crosslinks(相關博文):

Hershey Park, PA(賓州好時樂園)

Delaware Water Gap Natl Rec Area, PA(賓州特拉華河谷國家遊憩區)

Crystal Cave, PA(賓州水晶洞)

Bushkill Falls, PA(賓州布什基爾瀑布)

Jim Thorpe, PA(賓州吉姆索普鎮)

Hickory Run SP, PA(賓州山核桃樹州立公園)

賓州世界之巔州立公園踏秋(Foliage in Worlds End SP, PA)