SparkNotes

Well, we're about to enter the most depressing month of summer: August. Why is it the most depressing? For starters, it's really hot and often humid. It's also the month when most people have run out of ideas for fun stuff to do. But the real reason it's the most depressing month of the summer? It's the last one.

But we at SparkNotes are here to help you get through this last month before the rest of your life. Okay, maybe not "through" it, because "through" means "to the other side," and on the other side of August is school. Let's say we'll help you survive the month. Here's how:

One of the most common complaints about high school is that it doesn't prepare you for a career in the real world. We at SparkNotes disagree. High school can offer you a start in any number of careers, and you can actually try some of them out while you're there—including newspaper reporter, actor, scientist, and criminal.

That's why we were so excited to hear about this internship program aimed at high school and college students who are looking ahead to med school. It got us thinking: Why can't more jobs provide high schoolers with opportunities like this? Which in turn got us thinking: There's absolutely no reason why they can't. We suggest the follow career previews:

One summer ritual as old as time itself is the summer camping expedition with the family. Some of you out there might be seasoned veterans. You might already know what kind of tick bites to freak out over and which plants to avoid and how close you can safely get to a moose.

But others out there might be completely new to this glorious family pasttime. Either way, we at SparkNotes can teach you a thing or two about surviving your time in the wilderness. So pull your quad chair up close to the fire and listen up.

Programs like Summer Success at Agua Fria High School in Arizona are helping students prep for ninth grade by teaching them how to do things like "plan course schedules, make friends, join teams and clubs or even find a seat in the lunchroom." We love that lunchroom-seat-finding unit and want to sit in out of sheer morbid curiosity. But we can think of a few crucial additions to Agua Fria's course schedule. Freshly-minted froshes, you'll need classes on how to:

We're really sorry, everyone. Somehow we at SparkNotes neglected to tell you in advance about the first annual National High School Musical Theater Awards—better known as "Jimmys"—held just a few weeks ago. We should have done a whole slate of pre-show coverage, from rundowns of our favorite nominees, to profiles of co-hosts Hugh Jackman and Neil Patrick Harris, to lists of food to serve at your Jimmy parties. But we dropped the ball. All we can do is apologize and promise not to let it happen again.

Interestingly, only three awards were presented at this year's ceremony: Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Arts Education Program. Here's hoping that slate gets expanded soon. In addition to the Best Directing and Supporting Actor/Actress categories, here are a few other awards we think should be handed out:

At the height of the summer of '09, we at SparkNotes find ourselves thinking back to the summer of '69. Or, more accurately, we find ourselves thinking back to the Bryan Adams song of that name. (How old do you think we are, anyway?)

That tune came out in 1984—only 15 years removed from the dog days Bry-Ad was singing about. When he wrote it, the feel-good vibes of the Summer of Love were fresh on everyone's mind, and cell phones, DVR, and Facebook weren't even twinkles in Mark Zuckerberg's eye. Hard to imagine those Dark Ages, right? Let us help you out with a little translation:

This time of year is all about cookouts. But what if you're not being invited to as many of them as you'd like? Well, SparkNotes can tell you the secret of getting invited to every barbecue in town. It's really simple: Become the one thing no cookout can go without (no, not fire).

We're talking about how you can become the invaluable GrillMaster!

Here's what you'll need:

The TV series Glee hasn't officially premiered yet, but we're sure it will be a huge hit. The show is set in an Ohio high school and features glee club kids—traditionally seen as the epitome of lame—giving fantastic performances and having a wonderful time.

The message is clear: chorus members, glee club singers, and madrigal performers have been underestimated. This got us to thinking about what other school activities we typically give short shrift. How could TV shows help reveal their hidden cool? We've got a few ideas:

In just a short amount of time, you'll have your chance to see all the explosions your heart could desire. No, we're not talking about the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Next week is the Fourth of July, and we want to help you get the most bang out of your patriotic buck. Here's a list of dos and don'ts.

Do get close to the center of the action. It's one thing to enjoy the occasional colored spark peeking over the neighboring houses two miles away. But at least once in your life, you should get close enough to see the facial hair on the people operating the launchers. If one of the charges misfires and ends up as a dome instead of a sphere, you'll want to be able to say you were there.

Recently, your friends here at SparkNotes shared a few tips with you about how to get rid of a younger sibling. But some of you asked about getting rid of a more challenging, even wilier pest: the older sibling, home from college.

It's bad enough that you missed them while they were gone; it's even worse now that they've come back different. They don't really seem to the grasp the subtle line separating "educated" from "know-it-all," let alone the one that divides "mature" and "smug." But these are qualities that you can use to your advantage. Here's how to deal: