How are you spending your summer? Laying on the beach? Partying with all your friends from home? Babysitting the kids down the road? Well, enjoy it. Those days will soon be gone forever. I'm not saying adulthood can't be fun, but don't expect to be able to stay out until 1 or 2 in the morning on a Tuesday night and then work (productively) 8 to 5 the next day. If you are actually one of the few people who can do that, congrats. Cherish that ability, because it won't last for long.

Now I'm not trying to put a damper on your summer, by any means. I just want to remind you that you should take all of it in while you can. Before you know it, you will be getting ready to graduate in a year, and all of the anxiety that comes with graduating and starting in the real world will be on your shoulders.

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But I'm not here to bore you by talking about how I cry at least once a week because I don't have my crap together like I thought I did. I just want to give some insight on why I think you should have an internship of some sort before you start your senior year of college, while also showing the reality of what being an intern is really like. Keep in mind, I am a paid intern, so I'm not filing papers and getting my boss coffee every morning like you see on TV.

Here are some reasons why interning is the best and worst experience you'll ever have in your college years:

1. You'll have amazing work experience

Why does this matter? If you've never had an 8 to 5 job before, you'll get the opportunity to learn what that's like. It's completely different from hard labor outside in the hot sun or waiting tables all day. You get to sit in an air-conditioned office and will most likely have a nice comfy chair to rest your bum.

2. You will work your brain until it can't work anymore.

By the time 5 p.m. rolls around, you've most likely worked your tail off. (Not literally, remember that nice chair for your bum?) On a normal day, I spend all eight hours reading new material, re-reading that material, and making an educated analysis on that material. It's definitely more brain work than answering the phone all day like my previous jobs

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3. You'll meet new people.

If you have the opportunity to leave your hometown and college town for your internship, by all means do! It is a good chance for you to meet some new and very interesting people. Granted, most of these new people will be a good bit older than you, but they can share their experience and knowledge with you. You might learn a little something from them.

4. You'll grow homesick.

I've never been one to want to be home for a long period of time. I come from a small town where the only thing to do on a Saturday night is hang out in a parking lot or drive at least an hour out of town. I do however, have an amazing family and a super cute dog that I am obsessed with as if she was my child. It's pretty hard to not be around them whenever I want to be. If you go far enough for your internship that you can't take a day or weekend trip home, definitely use Facetime. Your dog won't be able to see you, but she'll hear you talking to her and wonder why you're not at home, and your family will appreciate being able to actually see your face at least once or twice a week.

5. You (possibly) will have a job lined up after it's all said and done.

Again, not all internships are like this, but most are these days. If you have a choice between more than one internship, take the one that has a possible job offer at the end. The program I'm in gives me a 75 percent chance of getting a full-time position with the corporation, depending on my performance. It's an amazing feeling to have some idea of where you will be this time next year, so that when you do go back to school you can enjoy school and not worry so much over what the heck you're going to do when you graduate.

6. You'll get a taste of the real world.

This can be a good and bad thing. I've grown up my whole life being told to find a career that makes me happy and never "work" a day in my life. This is absolutely true. By doing an internship, you'll be able to see if you are ready for the real world. Not sleeping until 10 a.m. every day or having five margaritas the night before you have to be up at 5 a.m. It's different, but a good different. Eventually you have to grow up and stop messing around all the time. An internship will give you a taste of what that feels like. You might have withdrawals at first, but you'll adjust. Don't worry; you'll still have a year or so of school to be a normal college kid again.

My overall suggestion? Do an internship before you graduate college. You may not have much of a social life during it, but I can promise you it will all be worth it when all is said and done. Even if you don't get a job offer at the end, you can put it on your resume as work experience and stand out to future employers. That is the ultimate goal of college, right? To find a career?