The summer before freshmen year of college: known to be one of the most challenging summers of all time. Why? Well here's 10 reasons.
1. Money, money, money.
Do I even need to explain? College is extremely expensive for most people and hours upon hours of work are often very necessary to be able to afford college. With work comes commitment and time and with commitment to work, comes less time with friends and family. Do you want to be in a pile of debt for the rest of your life? NOPE. Do you want to savor your last summer before college by doing fun things with the people you love the most? YES. Can you do both? ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE.
UGH.
2. Busy schedules.
You are not the only one working tons of hours this summer, most of your friends are too. This makes it extremely hard to make plans since everybody has very different schedules that don't have much wiggle room at all. Basically work is your life now and there is no longer any spontaneous trips to the movies or the beach with friends.
3. Friends.
This is the worst out of them all. Due to all the busy schedules and lack of hours within a day, it's easy to lose contact with some of your closest friends. It's not intentional, we all know that, but priorities are shifted and plans fall through. Soon enough you realize you haven't hung out with your best friend for 3 weeks, and that text your received from them, you completely forgot to answer.
4.New friends.
Let's admit it, the thought of new friends, though exciting, can be very scary. Soon enough your friends you have now will no longer live 10 minutes away. You will no longer be going to school with them and you wont see them as often anymore. Summer's here and time is running out. Before you know it, you're best friends are going to be going to college and potentially making new friends, causing you to feel replaced.You come to the realization that if you can't make time for your friends now; causing you to become distant, while they are still in reach, how will you ever be able to sustain a friendship during college when things are even more overwhelming.
5. The college process.
Roommates, dorm shopping, orientation, room selection, class schedule, summer homework, scholarships; you name it! There is so much. When you think you're done- you aren't. There's always another thing to buy, another scholarship to fill out. Right when you think "Finally I can relax" often coming home from an extremely busy day at work, college intrudes like annoying fly you just can't kill.
6. Romantic relationships.
Weather you have been in a relationship/fling for 5 years or 5 days, it's still hard to to commit to anything, knowing you have college coming up. College is exciting and some people don't want to be in a relationship there freshman year. So even if you are confident in your relationship or DO want to go into college with a relationship, there will always be that voice in the back of your head reminding you that college is filled with new people and new experiences, and there is a chance you may feel as if you are being held back. Not only that, but also college is a HUGE adjustment, and some people find that being in a relationship will limit them from adapting to there environment. And lets admit it, the thought of a broken heart is scary and something that everyone wants to avoid.
7. Saying goodbye to your hometown.
It's bitter sweet. You want to move away from home, be on your own, have freedom, and all that exciting stuff. But often when you go to college you feel as if the place you live now will never truly be your "home" anymore. The thought of this can be sad and stressful. You know the place you live like the back of your hand. You're mom is always gonna be there to cook you dinner. Though you can bring a lot of things to college with you, there's a lot more you have to leave behind.
8. Packing.
Before you know it move in day will be tomorrow and you'll find yourself still not packed. This one is gonna be short because even I don't want to think about the packing process!
9. E-mails.
Right when you think nobody uses emails anymore, here you are spending every day checking your emails, making sure you don't miss deadlines, looking at all the scholarships you didn't win. Finding out when your test scores from high school are available, and waiting for amazon to notify you that it the new comforter set for your dorm has been shipped.
10. New year, new you.
Everybody wants to have a fresh start. Everyone wants to look good on there first day of college and impress everyone. You're in a new place, with new beginnings, and honestly your life has just begun and adventure awaits. College is a place where no one knows your past and you can create a new image for yourself. But in the summer when everything is really busy, it's hard to create that for yourself. Some people want to lose weight: When can you ever get to the gym? A lot of people want to become more social: when is there any time to practice that? A lot of people want to experience the "college life" before they enter college in order to be prepared: Is there really any time and more importantly any connections that can grant you all those experiences?
This summer is hard. But try to stay positive, and know that the people who are suppose to be in your life will, and that even if things go wrong, everything will come together, you're mom will still drive any amount of hours to be there for you, and people will accept you for who you are. And debt... okay there is nothing positive about it... but still. Everything is going to be okay. As cheesy as it may sound, the summer before college is the rain that comes before the rainbow. You are about to have some of the best experiences in your life time. Embrace the future to come!
