Vacations, relaxation, free time- these are just a few of the things students look forward to when the last day of school rolls around and summer vacation begins. But unfortunately summer is not just fun, students must maintain learning as well. From reading assignments to math packets summer work is inevitable, but if we change the guidelines to be more individualistic and open ended, students may be more motivated to utilize their knowledge in a meaningful way. Although teacher-designed projects may prepare students for the course ahead, summer projects should be student-designed because it will allows students to open their minds to creativity, projects will be more enjoyable and of higher quality, and it would be easier to manage.

Student-designed projects promote creativity, which is one of the most useful skills today. Class curriculum is bound by specific expectations and allows little room for self driven deeper thinking. So, a student-based project would allow for students to explore topics that interest them and prompt them to dive deeper. When projects are less constricted and more open to interpretation, the outcome is an individualistic product that showcases one's individuality. For example, throughout different leadership clubs or classes students must come up with their own leadership project and propose a plan to achieve a specific goal. With each student having a different goal, each project is unique and expresses one's true self, with goals ranging from benefiting the homeless to saving the environment. The projects are not teacher-designed and allow the student to explore their mind and come up with something creative yet specific to them. Skills like these are important to exercise because creativity and individuality is what will set one person apart from another in the real world, careers, and competition.

Not only will student-designed projects prompt individuality, but they will also result in a higher quality product. When a project is based on something a person is genuinely interested in, it will lead them to enjoy the work they are doing. When one enjoys the work they are doing, they do a better job at it. For instance, we have been raised to pick a career that we enjoy because those who love their job are the ones that do it best. Therefore, we should do summer projects and school work the same way. Teacher-designed projects that restrict creativity will be dreadful and considered as busy work to the student, which will result in work that is simply complete just to get checked off. But incorporating open ended possibilities will make summer learning more enjoyable compared to the endless stream of work during a regular school year, where close to everything is teacher-based. Teachers also would enjoy seeing projects of high quality that showcase an individual's drive to explore new things that are enjoyable to them rather than a repeat of the same five step project over and over again. Student-designed projects will increase the quality and pleasure of the required summer work load.

Along with summer projects, students also need to balance work, family trips, and just enjoying life as a kid. Student-designed projects will allow one to manage their time in way that incorporates the project to their convenience. The regular school year brings enough stress with constant strict deadlines and expectations, so summer should be the time to let students breathe and mold projects around the components of break itself. No kid wants to work on their biology summer project during their beach vacation, but for example, students could incorporate an ocean or sea life based aspect to a self created project, that will not take away from the time spent on break. A trip to Europe can expand on a history project, rather than textbook readings and vocabulary words. Also, many teenagers are expected to maintain a job and earn money, and they may not have enough time to do a project molded by teachers who do not know details to each student's home life schedule. Students deserve the opportunity to indulge in a project that they believe fits best for themselves and the responsibilities they must tackle during the time that is meant to be a break from it all. Self-based projects will allow for students to incorporate learning into enjoyable things, so that is it more doable for them.

The warm weather and pool days should not be the only things students have to enjoy over summer break. With a student-designed project that is molded to an individual's schedule and interests, summer work could become enjoyable too. A rigid school year routine allows for a more flexible summer, which should also allow for a more flexible workload. Summer projects should be student-designed because they will prompt individuality, be of higher quality, and be done without extra stress to the teen. Making room for creativity and self-interest will result in a project that is more beneficial to the students in general. Enough of the expectations from students are teacher- designed, and as a society we would be surprised as to what amazing outcomes can come from promoting more individuality and freedom throughout learning.