1. You find out that the city of Columbia really does revolve around USC:
Columbia might be the state capital of South Carolina, but the University of South Carolina is at the heart of the city. It really is amazing just to see how much the city changes when all the students go home. That traffic that we all sit in at 5 o’clock when we are trying to get to the Greek Village for meals or just trying to get home for the day just doesn’t exist in the Summer. The city just feels so much smaller, and it’s kind of nice to relax. There isn’t the fast paced hustle that happens when there are students constantly moving about. I’m not saying that Columbia is a small town or the city totally dies in the summer, but it’s amazing to know just how connected our school and our city are.
2. Summer classes aren’t a joke:
I know that this is a common misconception, and I have to say I believed it until this summer. However, you can’t really judge a summer class until you’re in one. Trying to fit a semesters worth of classes into one month is NO cakewalk. People always want to look down on summer classes and the people that take them, but sometimes people that take summer classes are some of the brightest students at USC. Taking a summer class doesn’t always mean that you failed or you’re behind. Sometimes people change majors, or they added a double major. For me personally, I am graduating early, and I wanted to not take 6 classes a semester. So don’t knock summer classes until you try them.
3. Columbia really is “Famously Hot”:
Columbia is known for its heat, but you really don’t know what that means until you live here in the summer. You know it’s bad when you’re excited for it to be 92 degrees outside. The days on days of 100 plus temperatures really do get old. You don’t see too many people outside, unless it’s a Saturday at the Olympia/Granby pool, and even then everyone’s crowded into the water. I watched a video last week that said there is fried chicken just laying all over the sidewalks in Columbia. That’s because it’s so hot outside that all those Gamecock just fry up right there when they are walking down the street.
4. Living at USC in the summer will teach you to live with anyone:
The theme when it comes to housing in the summer at USC is subleasing. You can get some pretty great rates in the summer, but it can come with a price. You never know whom you might be living with if you sublease, and that can lead to some pretty odd pairings. It’s always awkward to ask that kid you’ve known for two weeks to turn down the music or clean up their stuff, but man it can really make you grow up fast. I’m subleasing this summer, and it has been fine, but there’s just nothing like having your own space, especially when you can yell at your roommates all you want.
5. Working in the summer will really make you want classes to start again:
This is pretty much a theme anywhere that you live in the summer, but in Columbia this idea comes full circle. It’s so hard to be in a college town, but not really have very many college things to do. When you have to work all day, it’s a little disappointing to not be able to do all the things that you can during the school year. That’s why all of us that are here in the summer just want to stop working and go back to taking classes. Even though classes are never fun, it is still nice to have every one back in town and have a routine. Although a lot of people still work during the school year, working in the summer just makes you feel like the real world is approaching fast, and no one is ready for that to happen.
