It's about that time of the summer folks...
All college kids who are home for the summer are aware of the dreaded midsummer blues. It's that time when being at home is no longer fun. Your parents are always bugging you to do chores around the house or ask where you are going or what you're up to. You are working all the time, and when you aren't working, you are sleeping the day away or watching a lot of Netflix. You try to get together with old friends but they are all working just like you and your schedules never match up. You start to miss all of your friends from school, your roommates, and the college lifestyle. You gain so much freedom when you go away to school that coming home can make you feel like a child again, but not in a good way.
My mom always says, "After the fourth of July, summer is over", which isn't too far off. Mid July, when everything has started to wind down, people take advantage of the free time. People go on family vacations, to summer camps, to the beach or the pool every day. July is the time to chill. July is also the time that the "back to school" stuff starts to appear in stores. College kids have to worry about preparing for the next semester by buying textbooks and new room decor. It's also the time people think about internships for the fall or winter, and jobs for the upcoming school year. All of this can put a real damper on the rest of your summer.
I guess my real issue with the blues is that it makes me feel that I have done nothing with my summer. I look back on my bucket list and can only check off one or two things out of a list of 20 things I wanted to do over the course of four months. I felt like I had so much time in the beginning of the summer and now it is almost gone and I haven't gotten anything done. There's nothing I hate more than wasting time, and when July rolls around, I feel like a failure. It actually stresses me out thinking about all the things I could have done in two months time that I have yet to do. I know not everyone feels this way, but I find this to be a very troubling concept.
I can honestly say that I have had a wonderful and relaxing summer so far, despite my bucket list fails. I have gotten to catch up with old friends, spend quality time with my family, and just have days where I do absolutely nothing. It's great to actually having nothing to do, and the summer is a great time to have do-nothing days. But I can't help but feel the slightest twinge of anxiety as the days of summer run out and it's back to the reality of school.
So to all of those whose parents are driving them up a wall and are slowly dying of boredom and college life withdrawals, just remember that we still have a month or two left of summer. Instead of wishing away the days until school, make the most of the free time you have. We all know the midsummer blues are bad, but the mid-semester blues are worse.
Enjoy all the time you have because we can never get enough of it. So kick back, relax, fight off those summer blues, and have some fun, because September will be here before you know it.
