From Anna...

This is my family's lake in northern Wisconsin, and probably my favorite place on Earth. I actually did most of my summer homework sitting on the dock.

I think my hopes for high school are probably the same as a billion other students; I hope to get good grades and test scores, and learn as much as possible. I want to be able to get into a college with big ideas, because so far I've only experienced my own environment. I think college is like a shove into the real world, and I want to be able to experience as much as possible. I also hope I can find things I honestly love to do. Sometimes I feel like I discover something, and then I wonder how I could've been so dull before. I hope to be as genuine and enthusiastic as I can.

My overall life goals are much more vague. Somebody told me once that there are three big things in life- love, money, and freedom- and you can pick two. I chose love and freedom. This probably sounds naive and really fake from somebody like me; I've never had to seriously worry about money. Still, I never want to be a person stuck doing something I don't love just for the salary. I want to do something meaningful. I think for someone who has always had support and a bright future, there's nothing more tempting than seeing somebody who doesn't. I would love to be a doctor some day, especially in a developing area where the help is really needed.

I had an incredibly mind-opening summer, but I think the thing that had the biggest impact on me was spending a week in the northwoods in a cabin without running water or electricity to learn about ecology. I had so many new experiences, but I mostly realized how little I actually know.

Lastly, my favorite website is probably www.pandora.com. I've found some really wonderful songs thanks to it.