Dear Cousin,

How are you? I hope everything is going well for you. I recently read some blog posts about what students should do during the long summer break, and I thought they had some useful ideas. Since you are about to finish school, I wanted to share my thoughts with you on whether travelling or working would be the better option.

On the first blog I have read, Pierre thinks that travelling during the long summer break before going to university is definitely worth it. This is because she thinks that it gives students time to relax from academic pressures. She mentioned in her blog that she needed some time to relax and do something different, since she has been studying for over ten years. Therefore, this point of view states that students need their own time to get out of the academic pressure.

When students travel, they learn how to be independent.This is because students are far from their home, so they aren't around their parents as much as they did back then, meaning that they need to use their own brain to overcome obstacles that comes up upon travelling.This have been mentioned by Pierre's blog post that says that he learnt much life skills on his own.This means that travelling is recommended, since life experience, with independence playing an important role, help students prepare for their future where they need to do things by themselves.

One of the key life skills Pierre learned through his summer travels was managing his money. He mentions that while traveling, he faced situations where he had to take responsibility for his finances. Pierre learned how to keep track of his spending and ensure he didn’t run out of money while still enjoying the trip. This helped him become more responsible with his spending and taught him how to prioritize between needs and wants. It also reduced stress because he knew where his money was going. Overall, learning how to manage money is a valuable skill that will help him continue to stay financially stable in the future.

Instead of travelling, working or gaining experience during the long summer break is a more useful choice. In Text B, Maryam explained that travelling is expensive, and the money could be better used for future needs such as university. This shows that summer jobs, voluntary work, or even helping in a family business can provide valuable life skills like communication, time management, and responsibility. Students may also earn money or make useful contacts that will help them in their future careers. Therefore, spending the summer on work experience is wiser than travelling, as it prepares students for long-term success.

Travelling during the summer break can also be postponed until later in life when students are older and more financially stable. As Maryam mentioned in Text B, young people might not fully appreciate travel experiences now, but will enjoy and benefit more from them when they can afford it. This means that instead of wasting money on travel at a young age, it is better to focus on gaining skills or preparing for university. By delaying travel, students can make more meaningful memories in the future while ensuring their present efforts are directed towards building a stronger foundation. Therefore, waiting until later to travel is a smarter and more practical decision.

Travelling during the summer break can also be postponed until later in life when students are older and more financially stable. As Maryam mentioned in Text B, young people might not fully appreciate travel experiences now, but will enjoy and benefit more from them when they can afford it. This means that instead of wasting money on travel at a young age, it is better to focus on gaining skills or preparing for university. By delaying travel, students can make more meaningful memories in the future while ensuring their present efforts are directed towards building a stronger foundation. Therefore, waiting until later to travel is a smarter and more practical decision.

Dear cousin,  

   After reading your email that you have sent, I did some reading on blogs that I have found. They shared different opinions about travelling during the long summer break before going to university. I’d like to share it with you and give my preference.

   Travelling abroad gives you time to relax and do something different. It helps you to relieve stress and gives you strength after facing examination. For example , you decided to travel and spent your time with your friends after weeks of studying so hard. Therefore, it gives you time to relax and do something different.

  Travelling helps us to gain new experience and knowledge about other countries. As mentioned in text A, "I loved experiencing the cultures rather than by digitally from articles or videos. Travelling helps us gain more new insight and understanding of the world view. Therefore it helps us to become more open minded about the world's culture.

  Travelling with friends can help us to be more independent. Text ‘A’ suggested that travelling helps us do things on our own without having to rely on our parents . This can help us practice to be a responsible and reliable adult. It could help us solve our own problems , overcome challenges , manage our life skills and so on . Therefore , with travelling , we could practice to be much more independent and mature.

  Travelling helps one to develop life skills that wouldn't be taught on the regular. Learning skills that help smoothen everyday chores such as managing money would certainly help to cope in a new environment especially in today's world and when you're becoming an independent adult. As Pierre mentioned, "but I would argue that it helps you (....) develop life skills that can't be taught in a classroom". Therefore, travelling helps us develop life skills that are essential in everyday life that aren't taught anywhere else.

  Travelling can be so expensive, especially for students. Text B suggested that you can waste lots of money on travelling rather than using it on education instead. Considering that universities are really expensive with high costs, you need to save up a lot so that it won’t be so difficult to handle in the future in order to avoid student debts. For example, instead of spending money on unnecessary things on trips , you can use it to buy textbooks or electronic devices to use for school purposes.  Consequently, travelling is deemed to be very expensive and the money could be used for studying instead of wasting them on travelling.

  However, by deciding not to travel and stay during the long summer break you can gain work experience. Work experience can teach u alot if skills that may bring a lot of advantages in the future such as being confident talking to strangers, how to communicate properly and even can help our time management. It also can make you less dependent on student allowance as u gained ur own.nevertheless, work experience can also help you create connections which may help u in the future. As I've read Maryam's blog she stated that work experience can teach you life skills that help you in the future and you can even earn some money and make a lot of contacts with people who can help you in your future career. Therefore , from Maryam's perspective, I agree that deciding not to travel during a long summer break and gain more work experience is more beneficial and value  more time.

  In conclusion , the advantages outweigh the disadvantages . I hope you can make your own decision to choose what you want to do after this . Stay safe my cousin , hope you enjoy your break !