It's April 29th. You're sitting in your macroeconomics class feverishly coloring in bubbles on a scantron. It's your fifth exam of the week, and unlike your previous four scantrons, this one isn't bedecked in tear drops. Your palms are still sweaty, yet with each carefully shaded bubble, your anxiety eases and is instead replaced with the type of elation you haven't felt in months. Class is out. Hello summer.
Oh wait.
You're taking summer classes. Maybe you can have a pinã colada in your backyard.... between essays and study sesh's.
Here are 10 things every college student/unfortunate soul taking summer classes understands:
1. Because you had only a whopping total of 10 days to recover from the previous semester, your brain is irreversibly fried.
You may not be on vacation, but your brain sure is.
2. You're not emotionally prepared to learn 15 weeks worth of material in six weeks, but ready or not, it is going to happen.
From the second you've stepped foot into your classroom, the professor is forcefully shoving information at you, in a futile attempt to squeeze 15 weeks worth of lectures into a three hour block.
3. Every time you open Snapchat and Insta, a piece of you dies inside.
While your friends are guzzling beers at backyard bonfires, and backpacking through Europe, you're learning about the founding fathers for the billionth time in your educational career. (Ben Franklin was a perv and Thomas Jefferson really liked pine cones, you know, in case you were wondering).
4. When your friends get mad at you for not being able to go out on on a weekday because "it's suuuummer."
No matter how many times you explain it to them, they will never quite comprehend why someone would willingly sacrifice their summer for education. And come to think of it, you're not so sure yourself.
5. When you don't know whether to dress for a sunny summer afternoon, or to sit in an overly air-conditioned classroom.
I'm pretty sure this is why God created capri leggings.
6. The fear of knowing there is a 100% chance that you are going to get called on in class.
Because of the smaller class sizes, you can no longer hide behind a sea of heads and laptops. You are exposed, completely and utterly exposed, so get ready to tell your class all about the Gettysburg Address.
7. And beware of the attendance policy.
Say goodbye to days of skipping class for naps and Gossip Girl marathons, attendance policies are more strictly enforced in summer classes because of the condensed semester. So try to refrain from contracting the plague, because there is no coming back from a missed summer class.
8. Having to remind yourself daily that this is what responsible adults do.
So pat yourself on the back, because you've done it-- you've finally immersed yourself into this thing called "adulthood." And much to your dismay, it freaking sucks.
9. You may have sacrificed half your summer. You may have suffered through 3-4 hour long lectures. You may have crammed and crammed and crammed some more, but hey, now you're a smidgen smarter. Congrats!
You are victorious in your conquest, and you have the flashcards and filled notebook to prove it. Your summer break may have started later than your peers, but it's here now, so don some shorts, huddle around a campfire, and try not to bore your friends with "fun facts about the American founding fathers". They're not fun, and they won't care.
10. And you know this dreadful summer will pay off when you are handed your diploma.
Whether you're taking your summer classes to graduate early, to graduate on time, or let's face it, to graduate at all, your hard-work will pay off (if you're willing to put in the work, that is).
(Oh, and if you couldn't tell, I'm taking an American history class this summer. I love me some founding fathers).
