Coming from someone who is embarking upon her senior year in college (holy wow… HOW), I have had a lot of mixed feelings during the summers that have led into fall semester. For me, there is a stark contrast between the summer going into my freshman year and this current summer because I catch all the ~feels~ at all times anyway but especially when the school years begin. So let’s just jump right into it!
Freshman Year
Fear of the unknown has never been and will never be more prevalent than the summer entering into your freshman year of college. You are LITERALLY being covered in prime rib and thrown to sharks. Your mind is stuck in parallel universe somewhere between your mom packing your lunch and you signing your life away on student loans. It’s a weird and stressful time and it goes by SO SLOWLY. The anticipation to get on campus and start paying your dues to weed-out professors and upperclassmen is quite maddening and you’ll probably stress-eat in result (hello premature freshman fifteen). The list of questions you have is endless:
“What if the class I need is full?”
“What if the sorority I want to be in doesn’t pick me?”
“What if my roommate makes fun of the bedspread my mother made me.”
“WHAT IF THE CAFETERIA DOESN’T HAVE VEGAN OPTIONS HOW WILL I CONTINUE TO BE?”
….etcetera, etcetera
It’ll all be over soon, freshlings. You’ll get your sea legs after about 5 all-nighters and three 8 page papers into the semester and you’ll be begging for summer break.
Sophomore Year
By FAR the worst summer to undergo. After freshman year, you’ve tasted freedom and you’re never turning back! That is until mom tells you to be home by midnight… AND YOU’RE RIGHT BACK IN HIGH SCHOOL. “But Mooommmm! You didn’t call me and ask where I was when I was at schoooooll.” *insert dramatic 19-year-old tone of voice*. Remember that parallel universe I was talking about earlier? Well, now you’re back for 2 months and it’s even more unbearable. The summer going into your sophomore year is FULL of anticipation. You have upperclassman dorms and respect to look forward to. You already know what to expect (you handled your classes like a BOSS freshman year) and now you’re ready to PARTAYYYYY all over again but this time doing it right, without freshman year anxiety about making friends, finding your niche, and thriving. You have friends. You RUN your niche. And you’re not sure if anyone has ever thrived better in your situation than you do. You’ll probably ask at least ten times over the course of this summer, “Can I move back in like a month early?”
Junior Year
….Can classes never start... like ever. This is the summer where you’re probably either interning for your ~hopefully~ future employer and you’re Busting. Your. Ass. trying to make a good impression. Or you’re taking summer classes, while easier than an internship where you’re literally being treated worse than the CEO’s poodle (Yes, Mr. Funklefeedles has better microwaveable lunches than you do. You would know you heat them up every day for him.), it’s still purgatory while you scroll on Instagram during lunch and see your friends in Greece, Cape Town, and The South of France. Yay, for my chalkboard view and diagonal cut turkey sandwich. This is the summer that you dread classes starting back up. You already know how academically difficult third year is going to be and you’ve been trying to mentally prepare but who can concentrate when you’re taking orders from a fluffy canine who’s name you don’t respect? No one. Hang in there, guys, your 21st birthday is just around the corner, first round on me.
Senior Year
This summer has taken mixed feelings to a whole new level. Entering your final year of undergrad you just have one little question… “Where did the time go?” They say “Don’t blink” because it goes by so fast but you really have no idea until you look up from your desk and it’s your senior year of college. Three years. Three years of dedication to something you love and are passionate about. Three years of learning, growing, and becoming the person you were meant to be. Three years of sweat, tears, blood, and energy all come down to the final countdown. You want classes to start… but you don’t. You’re ready to get into your last year… but you’re not. You can’t wait to be done… but you can. It’s like you’re back in that universe but this time, you’re not in it, you’re on the outside looking in. Wishing you could go back to it just so you didn’t have to face this big scary world. This summer has been one of the most emotional and eye-opening one that I myself have experienced. By all means, bring on senior year!... Just not yet.
Regardless of how you spend your summers, I’m sure that you will make them as productive as possible and get ahead in any way you can. But take it from someone who has been there, don’t forget to look up.
