After completing my first year of college, I was in for a whirlwind of chaos. I had a new home to get settled into, a wedding to attend, and two road trips on the horizon for me. I didn’t have a job or internship going on for the summer due to all the traveling, so my time really became my own. And with all of that time, I decided to do what any logical person would do: sleep, eat, and watch the latest season of "Orange Is the New Black." It was through my watching that I began to realize being a college student at home for the summer made me awfully chummy with the ladies of Litchfield in more ways than one.
For starters,
1. You’re expected to do things at certain times.
Whether it’s going to your cousin’s barbecue or dropping your brother off at his piano lesson, you get sucked into a cycle of chores, errands, and obligations. The “I’m a broke college student” excuse can only get you out of stuff for so long.
2 .There’s no way to avoid your past.
Ex-friends, significant others, or classmates—you have to do a double take everywhere you go. Even if it’s an innocent stop by Target or CVS, you need to have a game plan in order to avoid running into someone you know. And with the inevitability of crossing paths with someone you used to know, these encounters bring back memories, ones that you typically wanted to forget, or had forgotten, but that will now be permanently embedded in your brain.
3. You begin to re-examine yourself and your relationships with people.
As the theme song of the show suggests, “You’ve Got Time,” and with that time comes the opportunity for reflection. You’re no longer up to your eyeballs in homework and meetings to get out of thinking about things like your ambitions, fears, and connections with others. All of those thoughts you pushed to the side catch up with you, and it’s time to deal with them.
4. You have to rediscover your way.
While you were off at school, everyone you left back home kept on going. Friends, family, acquaintances all have settled and mapped out routines and you’re dropping back into their new patterns. You have to readjust and navigate your way around all sorts of situations from accommodating plans with friends around their work schedules to fighting over control of the television.
But there are upsides, too!
5. You get to spend quality time with your family.
They may drive you nuts or embarrass you beyond belief, but distance has made you grow fonder of them. You’re not always around anymore, so you look forward to catching up with them, as opposed to dreading it.
6. You get to reunite with your squad, and it’s like you never left.
There’s no better feeling than coming back together with those few close friends you’ve always cherished. Through thick and thin, they’ve been there for you, and you can’t wait to see what crazy adventures are in store with them by your side.
7. You get caught up on all the latest gossip.
Whether it’s finding out your next door neighbor cheated on his wife or the valedictorian of your class dropped out of college (because she’s pregnant with the next door neighbor’s child), you’re immediately brought up to speed on the happenings of your town. The amount of insanity that goes on in your small town puts "Bates Motel" to shame.
8. You can catch up on your reading.
All of those books you promised you would get to in your free time, you can now catch up on. And even better, you can enjoy them guilt-free without worrying whether or not you have a test tomorrow or should have prepped more for that project presentation.
9. And if you get lonely, all your college friends are just a phone call away.
It’s hard when you become really close with people at school only to be whisked away a couple months later. Reach out to see what they’re up to, and you can sulk in your boredom together instead of apart.
Ultimately, summer is about making the most of your situation. There’s both good and bad that comes with having so much time on your hands, but as long as you’re willing to put something into it, then you’ll get a valuable experience out of it. And if you’re completely at a loss for what to do, start by watching "Orange Is the New Black." It’s not too late to start, and it's not a bad way to kick off your summer!
