Summer break, it's the best of times.
But, sometimes, it's the worst of times - like when:
1. You have to find a job.
Maybe your old job is still there, but maybe it's not and maybe you'll somehow beat out all the other college students coming home for that really rad job you want.
2. You have to move EVERYTHING.
If you're like me, you had a specific place for everything in your apartment at school - and now you have to come home and find the perfect way to mesh your stuff with the stuff of how ever many people you live with at home.
3. You no longer have a dining hall.
You actually have to make food, which is, like, effort - which kind of sucks. Oh, and trust me - your mom isn't going to make all of your food for you. If you don't make your food, you have to buy it - and that costs a lot of money. Which means, if you are stuck in unemployed limbo that is money you don't have.
4. You're away from all your school friends.
They're in the next room over one day, and then they aren't anymore. They're glorious makeup collection isn't there anymore, you can't yell across the apartment to ask questions, the people who understand what goes on in your daily life are far away, and the people who understand all the school related inside jokes are gone. If you're like me, then they're a thousand miles away for two months.
5. There aren't always people around.
If you feel lonely, you can't just walk to the union and talk to the Starbucks barista that has your order memorized, you can't go sit in the library and run into those guys from your class. There isn't a crowd of people who can go to the dining hall with you at any moment. You're stuck.
6. Having to explain an entire semesters worth of information and events to your "at-home" friend.
No, unfortunately, they don't automatically know everything that happened. They don't remember that week you had awful stress acne or that cute guy who smiled at you in the library the first week of classes. You have to explain it all, and you have to have them explain theirs to you. In my case, a friend I hadn't talked to in a year got married, and she's moving to Florida while her husband is in the navy and currently out of state. Things change, people change.
7. You have to find a new routine.
There isn't anymore wake up, go to class, go to lunch etc. It's a system of staying up too late, and then waking up late to find that you missed out on socializing - because of this new sleep schedule. Until you find a job, or your mom wakes you up when she leaves for work because she hates that you sleep the day away, there's nothing to keep you in a routine and there is seemingly no control over your life.
8. Keeping up with your "school friend's" social lives.
Just like relaying information to your home friends about your life during the semester, you have to do the same with your school friends over summer break. Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram become your best friend when it comes to keeping up with the every busy social lives of your friends.
9. Running into people you know and undoubtedly don't want to talk to.
That weird kid from high school you would do anything to avoid, yep he's the first person you see when you walk into the supermarket. The girl who always brags about her perfect life? Yeah, her too. You'll spend way more time than you'd like to hearing about how she has a 4.0 GPA - and is captain of her sports team, sorority president, and the vice president of every club she's in. You'll probably run into every one of your mom's friends at some point, too. Every single one of them will ask what your GPA is, and if you've found a boyfriend. You'll find yourself repeating the same answer every time like some kind of pre-recorded tape.
10. Catching up on all the appointments you missed during the semesters.
You thought making all of them for the same week at the beginning of summer, when you can't even find a matching pair of socks in your mess of stuff from school, was a great idea. All of the appointments you need to catch up on are staring you in the face, and you'll find yourself repeating the same information to every doctor. That dentist appointment you've been avoiding forever? Yeah, your mom is not going to let you get out of that one so easy. You'll have to face all the bad decisions you've made throughout the semester including your eating habits, how much you didn't utilize the gym you pay so much for, and that guy you hooked up with that makes you feel a little gross when you think about it.
Summer break is the best reward at the end of a long semester, it is truly some of the best times of your life, but there are - without a doubt - some things that make you wish August would come a whole lot quicker than it's going to.
