After nine months of college, it is time for summer vacation. The end of the semester is extremely bittersweet for most. On one hand, college students have been in the same routine for the past year and need a change of pace. However, it is also sad to leave your college friends and school that has become such a huge part of your life in one short year. Often, people find themselves with very mixed feelings about their future three months.
The summer could be very exciting for students after their first year of college. I found myself being very eager to come home in order free myself of textbooks and exams. I just wanted to relax and be able to binge watch Netflix, or lay by the pool.
Before I left college, internally, I was planning out all of the fun activities I would do. I wanted to go to my summer lake house, travel around New York City, and mess around until my work began. When I came home, I did follow through with some of these plans. I began to relax more, and not stress about minute problems like I did at school. Like any college student home for the summer, I have been capitalizing on the home-cooked meals provided to me, and the ease of being able to drive to dinner as opposed to taking a surged-Uber.
This was fun for the first two or three weeks. Now, I find myself six weeks into the summer, and desperately awaiting August to return to school. It isn’t that I dislike being home, because I do love spending time with my family and high school friends, and I definitely needed a break from college. It’s the fact that on the days when I don’t have a plan to travel some place, or do something, I find myself with ample extra time. Originally, I was able to occupy that time with "Entourage" or working off the freshmen 15. But, now, I find myself with more time than I know what to do with.
Originally, I thought that this was only happening to me, and that my friends have found better uses for their time. I was shocked to realize that the unemployed sector of my friends were in the same scenario. They were all so happy to be home, yet so dissatisfied with their daily routine. After looking at my college routine and home routine, I am constantly over-stimulated at college with sorority events, socials, and academics that I never even have a chance to take a deep breath or watch a movie. College students like me may be bored with their summer vacation, but it actually allows you to be able to take a hiatus of relaxation. Boredom may strike you during the long summer, but sometimes you just need to take a step back and realize that it’s good to have the freedom to just do absolutely nothing.