Remember the last day of the semester? Everyone around you was so excited for finals to be over and for the summer break. Everyone couldn't wait to see their parents and be home again. Everyone also couldn't wait to see their hometown again. Everyone felt excited, except for you. Going back home meant feeling alone because all of your friends are from college. If you live on campus, maybe your breaking point was packing all of your dorm items away. Or if you commute, maybe you still drive pass your campus and it feels empty.
Being away from your friends can be hard because they have their high school friends. Your college friends are so excited to be reunited with their high school friends, and you are left at home missing your college friends. Maybe you are too scared to text your college friends because you don't want to annoy them. Or you want to plan a trip to see them but are scared that they won't respond.
Maybe the real issue is how different your schedule is now. You used to be able to spontaneously see one another but now, you and your college friends need to plan visits. You used to just be able to send a text and all of you met up for lunch. Even just running into your friends on the way to class was exciting. Everything with your college friends is rigid and planned accordingly during the summer.
Another issue is that you can be scared to be viewed as a "loser" since you do not have high school friends. Maybe it was because you moved around a lot. Or you were bullied a lot in high school. Maybe you just never fit in with any of the cliques. Or you high school friends abandoned you when they went off to college. You are not a loser, you are just a little lonely.
Summer classes and a summer job are an easy way to try and stay busy. Many colleges do offer summer opportunities and staying busy can help you. But the real issue can be feeling left out from your college friends' lives. It can be heartbreaking to see their social media post every day. Soon, you disappear from their selfies, and other people that you do not know are in them. "Who are they with? Why wasn't I invited?" can pop into your head. Then you remember that it's because you and your college friends live hours away from each other.
No matter what happens during the summer, remember that you have friends now, and that is what is important. Your college friends still love you and also miss you. They also can not wait for you to come back in the Fall semester. The distance can be challenging, but that just makes each time you see each other more special. You may end up discovering that you have college friends who are closer than you think. Your college friends' friends can even end up becoming your own friends. Do not view the summer as a bummer. Instead, embrace the opportunities that the summer gives you, and your college friends.
