Three months ago, I was more excited than anyone to be returning home from school for summer break. I had a busy first year at Rowan University. When I wasn't swamped with assignments, I was occupied by extracurricular commitments. I put so much pressure on myself to the point where the only time I had an opportunity to relax was on the weekends.
To sum it up, I don't feel as though I properly digested my freshman year of college.
Now, one month before the fall semester commences, I find myself revitalized. As someone who needs to be busy in order to feel fulfilled, summer break isn't the most rewarding time for me. When I'm not working or hanging out with my girlfriend, I'm usually laying in bed on my laptop, watching the same YouTube videos, or listening to the same songs on my Spotify playlist.
This inevitably becomes boring, forcing me to exit my comfort zone and search for hobbies in order to avoid idleness.
Of course, Odyssey has filled that missing void in my life. Odyssey has provided me with an outlet to both improve my writing skills and to talk to the rest of the world about stuff that I'm interested in. I'm forever grateful for this wonderful publication and all it has done for me over the past six months.
If you read one of my previous Odyssey articles, you know that I also picked up reading as a hobby. I may be a slow reader and I may not read every day, but literature has served as an entertaining alternative for me during times of boredom during recent months.
I love writing and reading, but that's really all I have going on at the moment. I also love my hometown and the people I grew up with, but for some reason, I just have this urge to return to Rowan already.
I consider myself to be a fairly independent person, especially for a 19-year-old. Sure, I rely on my parents to loan me money when I'm broke and need cash for beer, but that's about it. I can't express how much I enjoy living on my own. Despite being confined to a single-room dormitory last year, I thrived under minimal supervision.
It's kind of crazy how the summer always sped by during my youth. We'd get out of school in late June and return by early September, leaving my friends and me only about two months to enjoy ourselves. In college, summer lasts almost four months, a duration which has already proven to be way too long.
As crazy as it may seem, I miss the feeling of being overwhelmed. I miss having to do a million things at once and not knowing how I'm going to survive. I'm fiending for something to do, something to stress over. Adversity is meant to be overcome, and that's just what I aim to do each and every day at school.
Individuals value success in different ways. No one way is wrong, and that's what makes us so unique. For me, success is achieved through hard work and dedication.
Balancing priorities appropriately is my primary goal on a daily basis. If I'm able to complete what I set out to do, then I'm content, but never am I satisfied. College is the ideal environment for me. The competitive atmosphere associated with school encourages me to establish a positive reputation for myself by outworking my peers day in and day out.
With that being said, I am more than excited to be back in Glassboro later this month. I look forward to reuniting with friends I haven't seen since the end of last semester, and I hope to do bigger and better things this time around. If you're a work junkie such as myself, I'm sure you can relate to why I'm eager for classes to start up again.
But if your position contradicts mine in that you still find yourself basking in the summer sun, you still have time to enjoy it. Time does fly when you're having fun, but you still have a month at home. Don't allow time to pass you by.
This is going to be yet another difficult year for me. With responsibilities ranging from academics to extracurriculars, I'm always occupied by something during the school year, but I like it that way. I'm hoping for a fun, successful fall semester, and I will try my best to be the happiest I can be.
See you on August 27th, Glassboro.
