During high school, I never wanted summer to end. It was a glorious time, where I could relax, play piano all day, and eat junk food. I was content to merely exist and not make much of my time. I figured it would be the same even when I went to college. However, this summer, I toured Ireland with chamber choir, went on a hiking trip and taught for a week all at the start of the summer, and even then I was still ready to have that ideal high school summer again. Well. Things were different.

To start off, I had a wonderful teaching opportunity that carried me until I went to back to college. Job? Check. This at least kept me from being nocturnal. Additionally, instead of just spending my summer loafing around, I found an opportunity to begin making a name for myself in the community in which I hope to work one day. I found myself studying to find the best way to teach the students, and asking different educators I knew how they approached specific situations. I was no longer merely existing, and that was nice.

Friendships are drastically different during college summers than they were during high school summers. I had found my place in a new community. I entered the “Millsaps bubble,” and the outside world pretty much vanished from January to June. The people I met were from all over the country, and some from outside of the country. Furthermore, being away from home distanced me from the people with whom I grew up. When I got back home for the summer, I felt myself become somewhat of a recluse. I had lost a desire to be social because it felt a little awkward to talk to people I hadn’t talked to in months. I drove an hour to New Orleans and saw a college friend a couple times, but I didn’t feel the desire to see my old friends as much as I did during high school. The summer after senior year, I spent the entire time with my friends, however this past summer I only saw them every few days or so, and I was fine with that.

Furthermore, the parent-child dynamic became a little weird. Dishes? I haven’t done any dishes in almost a year. Needless to say, I did the dishes, but the concept felt weird. I had become accustomed to college life. I didn’t have any dishes, and I kept up with my own mess rather than taking turns cleaning a collective mess. I wasn’t used to people asking me where I was going when I left the house at 2 a.m. I felt almost offended sometimes when my actions were questioned. I had to relearn respect, for sure. The return to my roots did me some good in that department.

Then, there was the moment when I realized I wanted to go back to school. The college summer vacation is a lot longer than the high school summer. By the time high school students were going back to school, I was ready to go back but still had three weeks. I questioned my sanity some days while impatiently waiting to head back to my new home. Don't get me wrong, I definitely loved being home, but I was ready to feel like I was accomplishing something. I missed being able to make an impromptu overnight trip to New Orleans and return just in time for my 8 a.m. class, and I even missed the jam sessions in the practice rooms.

When the moment came to finally move back in, I was filled with excitement. I usually dreaded the first day of high school, but coming back to college was completely different. I was glad that summer was over. I was ready to take on the world again, and to see how I could improve myself. I was ready to see what opportunities lay in store for me in my second year at Millsaps. Then, on the second day of school, I stayed up until 3:00 a.m. to do homework, and now, I’m a little ready for Thanksgiving Break, so I guess there are something things that will never change.