Flashback to finals week. You can taste it, summer is right around the corner and you are excited to finally be able to relax after a tough semester.
This is how I felt at the end of the year, but unlike some of my friends who vowed to have a great summer, I knew that I had to sacrifice my relaxing summer in order to achieve something much greater. A chance to study abroad in Germany next year.
As soon as I got home from school I knew that I had to work hard to make and save money in order to pay for my trip- and the payment deadline is only 9 months away. I immediately returned to Dairy Queen, where I had worked the two previous summers. I asked my manager if I could pick up a few shifts, which eventually turned into working 30 hours a week.
That's where I am now. I work 5 days a week- 30 or so hours. Since I have to save so much money per month, I don't really go out. I don't buy things. When I do go out I only spend about 5-10 dollars at a time. I had to turn down an invitation to Six Flags because it doesn't fit in my budget this summer. The way I see it, Six Flags will always be an option, but studying abroad won't be.
I envy my friends who always go out and don't have as big as a commitment to work that I do. I envy how some people can just ignore the call to pick up an extra shift, but I never do. Every time I have to remind my friends that I am not spending money for the next few months, I feel really bad. It's not that I want to turn down my friends, but I am intent on sticking to the goal I set for myself.
Even though I am sacrificing a relaxing and fun summer, I know that it will all be worth it in the end. I am paying for a once in a lifetime experience, probably my only experience abroad with my hard work and without any help from loans. I have a goal and a dream in mind and I am not going to let myself down. If sacrificing my summer is how I'm going to achieve this goal then that's what I am doing and what I am going to continue to do. I know that when I am abroad next year I will be able to look up and say, "I earned this, I worked so hard to achieve this and it was so worth it."
