This sounds kind of counterintuitive. Having classes in the summer does not sound like a fun way to spend your three months of freedom, but hear me out. There are some good things about summer school, why else would people be here?
1. Little to no extracurriculars.
Being in a sorority and a service organization and student council and a sports team while going to class during the year takes up literally every minute of the day. In summer school, there’s no weekly chapter for Greek life, no big events to plan for, no meetings to attend, and no sports games (that I know of). You suddenly have time, because it’s only one class.
2. You can have hobbies now.
Now that you have all that time and class is only two and a half hours of your day, what is there to do? Not only do you have the opportunity to watch an entire season of How I Met Your Mother in one day, but you can have actual hobbies! Ever wanted to paint? Hobby Lobby awaits you. Did you like your friends’ cross-stitching but never had the time or patience? Pick up that thread. You have so many hours to practice. Want to actually do some working out? You have time to shower afterward and play Cards Against Humanity with friends.
3. It’s only one class.
Sometimes the classes are hard, and that’s okay. O-Chem is hard. Social Psychology is hard. Research Methods is hard. But you don’t have to take them all at once. While you’re writing that paper for Road Movies this summer, take comfort in the fact that you don’t have another Rhetorical Theory paper to write afterwards.
4. Three weeks is worth four months.
May semester at Southwestern started May 11th and ends June 2nd. That’s twenty-three days, only two days over three weeks. Fall semester is one hundred and nine days. That’s roughly four months, and they count for the same credits. Imagine taking four months of Spanish IV, then imagine taking three weeks of it. Which one sounds less painful?
5. It prepares you for the real world.
One of the saddest things about accepting your adult status and going out into the real world is the fact that you no longer get a summer break (except teachers, props to you). Summer school is a gentle way to say, “Here, this is what it’ll be like to keep working past what you’re used to.” You get the feeling of a shorter break, but still get to work less and have more fun.
6. College is actually kind of cool sometimes.
During the year, I miss my family, the perfectly-cooked food and getting to have a bathroom bigger than a closet, but during the summers, I also miss college. If you live with your parents like I do, you can’t stay up til all hours playing that new Harry Potter drinking game with your friends, or learn how to make ramen look fancy without setting off the fire alarm. Your best friends are often hours away from your parents’ house, and I don’t think my mom and dad would like me to spread my crafting across the living room like I do in my apartment here. A lot of the time, people you know take summer classes. You have them to find hobbies with and watch Netflix with and go to Blue Hole with. Some may want out asap, but I’m going to appreciate my time here before I have to go be a real adult.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go read chapter five and then drag some friends to Austin Park n Pizza for go-kart racing. ✌🏻
