Ah, summer break. Three months without assignments, readings or exams. The second you finished your last final, you packed up and dipped out of your dorm room, eager to escape to the safe space of your hometown. And then, finally, you got there, excited to see your family, and... you're already bored.
Sound familiar? If you don't stay in your college town for break, you'll be able to relate to these summertime struggles.
1. Nothing is open late at night.
You're used to delivery available until 3 a.m., and even more options if you're willing to go out and get the food yourself. Unless you live in a big city, this probably isn't a thing in the summer. Maybe you have a 24-hour convenience store, but even that can be doubtful, and it's almost never enough. Sometimes you just need Cook Out at four in the morning.
2. It takes way more planning to have a night out.
Your friends at home aren't across the hall—they're across town. People have plans with their families, or their little brother needs the car tonight and they can't drive. The bars are further away. Spontaneous nights out are harder to pull off when there are fewer Ubers and stricter house rules.
3. Not to mention that you spend way more money when you do go out.
Believe it or not, not every town has deals every night of the week. When you're not in a college town, bars and restaurants cater to—gasp—actual, real-life adults. Adults with money. Money that you don't have.
4. Your bed just isn't the same.
OK, if you're a freshman who just spent a year in a dorm, chances are your bed at home is more comfortable. But for those of us who live off campus, the transition from a full-size bed at school to a twin at home can be brutal. What do you mean I can't lay diagonally across my bed? Do I actually have to put away my clean laundry instead of sleeping next to it for a couple of days?
5. People from high school are everywhere.
The local supermarket is particularly dangerous. Every time you leave your house, you run into someone you knew from high school, or worse, their parents. Plus, the ratio of people you actually see versus people you want to see is about 20:1.
6. You've already done everything.
So you've been home for a few days, you've hit up all your favorite food spots that you missed during the year, and you've made the rounds with your best friends. Now, what? You've gone to Target three times already. You did all this stuff in high school.
7. You don't know what to do with all your free time.
Say what you will about studying and writing papers—at least they take up time. In the summer, when you aren't working, you might not have any other responsibilities. There's no homework to do (or to procrastinate doing). Netflix can be a savior, but there's only so much you can watch before you can actively feel your brain turning to mush. Plus, you and your friends have different work schedules, so there's no guarantee someone will be around to cure your boredom.
8. As soon as you leave school, you miss your friends.
College goodbyes are tough at every break, but summer is the hardest. You wish you could spend your months of freedom with the same people who helped you suffer through your months of classes. You don't realize how much time you actually spent with your friends every week until that option isn't there. Plus, if some of your friends are staying for the summer, you have to see them all hanging out on Snapchat and Instagram while you're in your childhood bedroom, rewatching "The Office" for the fourth time.
9. You find yourself wishing you were still in school.
Even if it means you have to go to class, deal with professors and write research papers, you're counting down the days until you can get back to school. Summer reminds you that as much as you love being home with your family and friends, you chose to go to the greatest school in the world. Summer freedom is great, but you can tell that all the work of the school year is worth it.
