We’re rounding the halfway mark of what’s supposed to be the greatest season of the year, and the woes of missing our college towns and friends are growing just a little stronger each day. There are about three big events keeping us from going absolutely insane down the hallowed streets of suburbia: the 4^th of July, Country Thunder, and Lollapalooza. If you’re anything like me, though, you’ll be either nannying or inconveniently out of town during these three sacred summer events, unable to attend the festivities.

If you’re taking summer classes, midterms should be right around the corner. The time has come where you start realizing that your friends will unfortunately, not be showing up in the upper East Asia section of your hometown library because, apparently there is no upper East Asia section of your hometown library (no matter how hard you looked for it). And if you’re nottaking summer classes, congratulations on using your computer free reign to watch the new seasons of "Scandal" and "Grey’s Anatomy" that have been so graciously added to the queue this summer for our convenience, making the days with absolutely nothing to do a little less painful (thanks Shonda).

So here’s where I come in, the suburban nanny working 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and not nearly getting paid enough to babysit both the children and the dog with an uncontrollable bladder, telling you to hold on just a little bit longer.

Yes, being away from your college town and friends for three whole months can cause symptoms of withdrawal, but that doesn’t mean your summer at home has to be completely unbearable. Take this time to spend with your family and hometown friends doing things you can’t do with them when you’re away at school, because about a week after you hit the road to begin a brand new semester, you’ll start missing them too. Make a summer bucket list and get as many of the tasks done with your time left, even if it’s to watch all of the seasons of "How I Met Your Mother" in under a week (a job well done, might I add).

Take your books outside and study in the sun without the stress of having to cram a full week class schedule’s worth of work into one sitting. Use the days where it seems like there’s nothing to do to your advantage and that last week of summer will come sooner than you think. So drink your ice cold glasses of sweet lemonade a little bit slower and stay out in the sun a little bit longer, because before you know it, you’ll be stuck inside a classroom on a cold winter day wishing you had those warm days of summer back.