Nobody wants to have school work over the summer. Heck, nobody wants to even fathom the idea of doing the whole school routine over the summer. Summer is sacred to us students. A time where we can leave all the stress of tests and essays on the edge of campus boundaries and enjoy fun-filled days with sleep-filled nights. But to those of us who have to face the unfortunate reality of doing overtime on schoolwork, here's my advice on how to survive the madness.

1. Make sure you are well-organized and time conscious.

This will always remain true in whatever you do. But for the sake of summer school, it is important to do these two things from registration to the last minute of finals. In my most recent summer school endeavor, I tried my best to keep true to these two virtues. However, I find that there's always room for improvement, no matter how hard I try to stay consistently on top of things. At the time of my school's summer session registration, the thought of summer school kept blurring in and out of my mind because of my trying to balance my then current school work. The thought of possibly registering for two summer courses that would run was especially daunting for me at the time. I had been warned that it would be a difficult feat, but, here I am after a couple of days of freedom from summer school. Alive and typing.

2. Make friends, quickly.

I hate doing the whole "first week of school" ordeal: reviewing the syllabus for what seems like an eternity, finding the ideal seat in the classroom, figuring out what to wear to dress to impress, etc. But it's a rite of passage that all students must face. The positive side to it all is that making acquaintances, at the very least, will lessen the pressure of it all. I'm not saying that you should hurriedly come into class, sit next to a nice looking classmate and literally sweat out the nervousness that is meeting a new person for the sake of not being alone. Act normally. Find something that you and someone else in the classroom may have in common like an opinion about the teacher's unique mannerisms or sharing the same taste in music. It's a power move to make friends especially during a course as fast-paced as a summer course. You can call them up if you have any questions or form a study group with some other dedicated classmates. You won't regret it.

3. Ask, ask, ask.

From the answers I have heard from my fellow classmates at my university, college summer courses are, at the very least, six weeks long. That is less than the UC quarter system of ten weeks and less than half of a semester at a semester system university. This means that time and focus is of the essence when it comes to learning and studying a semester's worth of information. So, to ask questions should never be looked down upon by you or anybody else.

4. Find time to breathe.

I was on campus for my summer courses from 7:45 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the latest, from Monday through Thursday for five weeks, after I found out my school had a free tutoring center. This does not also account for the seemingly sleepless nights I spent reviewing concepts and problems. I do not regret this sacrifice of time because it led to a decent grade at the end of it all. But do invest at least a couple of hours to yourself. Take a long and deep cat nap. Chill with friends. Chill with your computer. Netflix and chill. Whatever it is to get your mind relaxed and off the stress of school - do it.

By now, Summer 2016 students are either done or about to be done with their summer courses. The benefits of begrudgingly trudging through summer schoolwork goes beyond getting a decent grade. Summer courses allow students to eliminate general ed courses and units, allow students to see a darker and more sinister side of time management and get students to not have their minds melt their knowledge away along with the summer heat. And please, don't worry. You will survive. I promise.