<p>Hello everyone. I am currently a freshman in high school and I applied to the COSMOS summer program. I will most likely not get in, though. So I want to think of some things I can do during summer so I’m not disappointed when I get the rejection. The three reasons that I don’t really do any extracurriculars and things like that are
I have to help care for my severely autistic brother (low-functioning autism),
My parents are always gone and can’t drive me anywhere. My father gets home in the evening and just lays down on the couch and watches tv for the rest of the day, and my mom owns a business and prefers to be there rather than be with us and help take care of her autistic son. Therefore she usually comes home very late, from 10-11pm.
I have a type of social anxiety and I don’t like to talk to people who are not in my family.</p>
<p>So this limits what I can do during summer. But are there still some things I can do to have a more productive summer? P.S I can’t drive.</p>
<p>How about learning to build or create something? Caring for your brother must be very draining to some extent. Creating something with your hands — from cooking/baking to basic woodworking to fly-tying…etc. Make it an affordable hobby. Maybe you wind up getting a mentor in that chosen area and forming a kind of friendship. </p>
<p>To add to the above post: Learn programming, it is highly advantageous in numerous academic situations. Furthermore, it can also be a lot of fun.</p>
<p>@dyiu13 Well I knit, I think that works!
@dfafd2dfafd Hey, I’m already learning that now on the internet! I guess I should continue doing that.</p>
<p>I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but I highly advise taking steps to getting over social anxiety. It really can hinder one in more ways than one might think.</p>
<p>Anyways, I concur with @dfafd2dfafd about learning programming. I’d probably recommend starting with a scripting language with lots of practical purposes like Python or R.</p>
<p>@CandyPants16 I am currently in counseling and I’m trying as hard as I can to get over the social anxiety. The problem is that selective mutism, which is the type of social anxiety I have, is really hard to get rid of after going so long without treatment. I should have started treatment when I was much younger and because of this it’s very hard to get rid of. Right now I’m learning JavaScript and its pretty cool. I’m learning it on codecademy.com so I just learn the languages they tell me to learn.</p>
<p>Are you the primary caregiver for your brother? That can be really hard- even if it’s only for part of the summer, it can be draining. (I was a counselor for a severely autistic woman in camp this past summer and it sapped so much out of me- for you, it’s day in and day out so it’s that much harder, I’m sure.) That’s why it’s so important for you to make sure to find some way to relax.
Who else takes care of him? Can you all work out some kind of a deal? What will you do if you do go to this summer program- can that arrangement be made no matter what you end up doing in the summer?
I don’t know what kind of area you live in or what you enjoy, but if you’re fifteen then taking a lifeguarding course may be a good idea, besides for setting you up for great employment opportunities in the future. It’s expensive, though, so consider if it’s worth the investment.
What sorts of things do you enjoy in general? Anything can become a great project- I love writing, for example, and this past summer I actually did a long-distance writing project on Google Docs with my friend, with each of us answering writing prompts and critiquing each other’s work. Another friend taught herself MIT AppInventor and made herself apps all summer, but if you’re learning JavaScript then you may find that too basic.</p>