There are plenty of things you could do over the summer. You could sail across the sea in a boat made of shells and jewels that you spent your whole life collecting through a series of long walks with your grandpa. Maybe you could even fasten a wooden sculpture of a mermaid, and have it sticking out of the front of your boat while pointing to whatever directions you’re going (fun fact: those statues are called figureheads). Or maybe you can spend your summer like I spent mine, reading comic books, catching up on HBO’s True Detective, and building Lego sculptures of your friend’s boat that he is sailing across the world. Maybe I would sail to the fountain of youth, but that would give me no time to finish my magnificent summer classes. If you have the choice to sail around the planet or take a class over the summer at CU, tell the deckhand to stay on shore and buckle down for a term baby!

There are an infinite number of reasons the summer class is the way to go. First of all, you will be closer with this class than you ever have been with a class that meets 2 days a week. The hours that make a summer class possible require a student to come 5 days a week for about 4-5 weeks. This may seem like a big time to cut out of your summer and dedicate to school, which it is. This time with your class will actually prove to be way more beneficial in the long run. This exposure to your class will force you to make a few buddies out of classmates, which will come in handy when you forget what the drop box assignment for week 3 is (like me)! It also gives you the chance to become more involved in the participation of the class. It’s physically impossible to go to class for 15 hours a week and not interact with the teacher. This relationship that is built over the weeks can prove to be incredibly helpful in understanding the class work, and with a little luck, it will help you understand your major!

If you ask anybody who has taken a summer class before, they will tell you that it’s the closest thing to a pirate’s lifestyle that they will ever live. (Unless you’re talking to the friend that sailed across the world from the first paragraph.) But sign up for a Maymester or A semester term, and I promise you’ll be feeling like Captain Jack in no time. Two to three hours of homework may seem like a big brick of time, but once you’re done, you’ll realize that this is your only class. You’ll finish your homework and utter a quick sigh before you realize the glowing and unbelievable truth: THAT WAS YOUR HOMEWORK. Now you can go out and buy the croquet set you’ve always wanted to play ever since you saw those old guys in vests on a hot day play in that national park. The rest of the day is yours! Talk about freedom!

The environment of Boulder over the summer is one to witness. For those of you with uptight parents, this is your window of opportunity to have the folks come visit. I’m not saying the people of Boulder act like they’re living in a seminary all summer. But it will be a breath of fresh air to take Momma June to Pearl Street without her having to witness Boulder’s finest drag a drunkenly confused but confident student off of the curb while they yell about how their parents are lawyers and how they don’t deserve this bizarre treatment. I admit, I love the hectic lifestyle that you can get thrown into in this beautiful town. However, I enjoy a little break from the excitement during my summer vacation. Sometimes the summer life provides you with a little piece of the pie that is bliss.