It's time for my last article as we hit the middle of a summer that has been a mass of sweaty, 90-degree weather, and a lot of long trips.

I have probably spent more time in the car or in an airplane than time I have spent in my own bed. All the activities and trips have been taxing, mainly because I haven't been able to be extremely lazy like my previous summers.

I can't say that the past six weeks have really been that relaxing. And, I only have two weeks left until the next year of school. I'm starting my junior year, basically another non-defining year in between the freshman and the senior years.

Currently, I'm sitting here on a plane from Germany to Washington D.C., 10:30 a.m. East Coast time. I'm tired, my stomach hurts and I've got about another four hours until we're going to land. But, this gives me some time to reflect on my writings over the past year.

This is my last article, my last chance to talk, and I'm still a little uncomfortable offering my ideas. Maybe it's an extreme case of writer's block, but I think it is more likely a sense that I don't have anything important to say. Don't get me wrong. I'm going to miss writing this article every month. It's a lot of fun, and not that much work. It's my kind of deal.

When I write for The View, I feel like I'm not wasting my time, which is a relatively good feeling. It gives me a chance to say something, and even to say some things that I sometimes regret. But, that is all part of the process, and part of the excitement of putting thoughts down on paper.

This job has been great. I got to set my own hours and say what I feel, but there are a few problems. I have to write from the perspective of a typical teenager and that can be very difficult. I am being asked to reveal feelings and express ideas in a public forum. Will people think I am a conformist, or spoiled, or that I am an arrogant 16-year old who has no idea what the real world is really like?

Many times I felt that I can't really express a meaningful opinion on most things going on nowadays because I'm just that, an ignorant teenager. I live in Howard County, one of the richest places in the country, how could I possibly have a respectable opinion on major issues or even the majority of issues that impact kids in high school across the country?

Is it pathetic for me to assume that the life of a teenager is really that important and interesting that it surpasses current events and world issues? I'm not some groundbreaking world leader, or sagacious visionary. I'm just a normal kid living in Maryland. Honestly, why should someone care what is on my iPod, or what I think about driving, or how I did in school?

But, I also recognize that my views are probably not so unique that others can't relate to them, and that there may be people out there that agree with me, have similar hopes, fears and concerns.

Each month I tried to convey some sort of voice and offer up alternative views that hopefully cause you to think about what I am saying. I didn't want to just deliver bland thoughts with no real point of view although that would have been easier to do. I wanted to express the conflicting thoughts I have on many topics and move myself, and you the audience, out of a comfort zone.

I once read a commentary that said people are sheep, far too ignorant to follow their own path and instead conform to a path of mediocrity and identicalness as the rest of their peers. I hate to think that I followed the same path.

Some may have considered me a conceited, snot-nosed kid, but maybe others viewed the world through my eyes. You may not like what you saw, but at least it was something a little different.

So yes, this is the my farewell to The View. I hope I concluded what was probably an aimless year of articles with at least a somewhat meaningful consummation. You may have found my articles funny or a series of ridiculous rants, but I can honestly say that it reflects what I feel. Hopefully they gave you a somewhat different perspective on some issues, and maybe caused you to see things through a different set of eyes.

Nick Jury is a rising junior at Mt. Hebron High School. You can reach him at cdumler@theviewnewspapers.com.

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