The longest summer in memory: we were all recent high school graduates, and life couldn't be better, for now. Graduation was so beautiful - I watched parents, teachers and friends filed into the school auditorium wonderfully decked out for this very special day. This was different. There was no 'obnoxious kid' or even the possibility that our beloved principal would swoop down and make a scene in front of the whole grade regarding order, daily school life, and administration drama. Everyone looked stunning. And it was the BEST day of high school. It was not only about celebrating the end of our high school career, but also a celebration of a new beginning. For most of us, this meant liberation from the late-nights, groggy Monday mornings, weekly assemblies with the rest of our peers, exams and the stress of senior year. Deep inside however, I was feeling mixed joy; happy but reluctant to leave this chapter of my life behind. Only a little though. We graduated from high school, and, officially crossed an unspoken threshold that allowed us to chat informally with our former teachers. Also, life couldn't be better, because we had the longest summer ahead of us. Most of the grade went out and partied hard (over the lasts year, each of us, one by one, became 'legal' in the drinking sense).