As most college students know, or are about to find out as they finish up their last finals, summer is a very strange time.
You may have been counting down the days until your last Intro to Philosophy class, or praying that you would pass your Calc 2 final (with the curve of course) or even celebrating your last few hours in your dorm common area with all of your roommates. The problem starts when you pack up the car and drive eight hours to go back home, or put everything in storage and hop on a plane. Why? Because you have time to think about the questions that everyone back at home is bound to ask.
“How is school going?” “Are you glad to be back home?” “What are you planning on doing this summer?” “Did you meet any guys..?” “When do your grades come out?”
Now I am not kidding. Everyone from your mother, your next-door neighbor, people at church, your friends’ parents and even random people who see you are wearing a shirt with your school on it will ask you these same questions all summer.
Like I said, summer will be a strange time where you will simultaneously be so glad you are home, and so bored because there is nothing to do since you no longer live on/near your school. So, what is there to do to get you through these arduous three months until you get to do it all again?
Please do yourself a favor and think of some answers to all of the questions people are going to ask you.
Yes, these kinds of questions are really asked that much. And yes, it will get incredibly annoying and tedious to have the same conversation with 50 different people this summer. But hey, even if they are annoying, over-asked questions, it shows that people, at least relatively, care and want to know what you are up to. So whether you very succinctly tell them the truth, “I love my school, I hated my roommate, Calc sucked, I loved my sorority/club/sports team but our chapter/meetings were way too long and boring, and no I don’t have a boyfriend," or if you inflate the truth a little, no one will know, and either way they should be really happy for you because you are in college and living the best four years of your life!
Make a bucket list of things you want to do/see/eat at home before you go back to school.
If you are like me, your school is a complete 180° from your hometown. At the University of Alabama, we have great school spirit that is evident throughout the entire state, some of the best barbecue you will ever have (some of the best chicken too), Steel City Pops and both a Moe’s and a Chipotle right next to campus. These are all things I can’t get back at home. But, all year I missed the huge variety of restaurants and cafes and food trucks available to me in Southern California. Especially boba, Korean barbecue, real Mexican food and the cute little hole-in-the-wall hipster coffee/tea places, bakeries and ice cream shops. So, I made a list of all the restaurants I want to eat at, the parks and activities that I can only do in my hometown or somewhere close by, and all of my friends that I want to see before I leave.
Take some time to relax!
Now that you are home from school, you don’t have to pull all-nighters for classes and tests anymore. Plus you also don’t really have as many opportunities to go out every night of the week. So kick back, sleep in until 3pm if you want, lay by the pool or the beach or binge watch the new season of Orange is the New Black. You have worked hard all semester, and you deserve it!
But not too much time…
You are a college student. You need money. While staying in bed all day might sound fun, you cannot spend three months in your room. Go out there and get a job! If you do not have one to go back to at home, then for your sake, please start applying early. It took me 30 different job applications and seven interviews before I finally got a job. There are so many high schoolers and other college students looking for summer jobs, and usually, the ones who are staying close to home for college are going to get the job. Even if you don’t get hired anywhere for some reason, do some volunteering, get an internship or take a summer class. Either way, you will be so much better off (either money wise or resume wise) for it.
Get ready for next semester!
We all know that you can’t wait until move-in day rolls around and you get to go back to your college, so instead of wallowing around thinking about how much you miss your freedom or your friends or college football, start planning. Make plans with your roommates for your dorm/apartment/house next year. If you don't, you might end up without a TV. Or no iron and ironing board. Or even no bowls (and we know how important those are). You can even make a list of goals for school too – whether it’s to get straight A's this semester, or get a Tinder to go on some dates (free food) or join a club/organization you didn’t last semester. This way, you can do something positive instead of just wallowing about missing school.
And finally…
Whatever it is you do this summer, have fun! Don’t be stuck in an eternal state of FOMO when you see other people’s vacation pictures on Instagram. Having fun doesn’t need to be extravagant and expensive. It could be eating ice cream in the park with your best friends at home. It could be taking a drive up to see your friend from school who lives a few hours away. It could be going to see a play with your parents, or any number of things. Either way, just enjoy these last few months of peace and relaxation before you go back to school – because you know when you go back, it will be crazy and hectic and everything you missed all over again.
