When I think of summer, the words sun, sand, barbecues, friendship, bonfires, vacations, and freedom come to mind. It's a nice break from the everyday chaos that ensues during the year. From classes to meetings to work, it's hard to find the time to sit back and relax, which makes you crave the beauty of summer.

Now cut to the moment you're actually free and the stress of finals is over. If you're a commuter like myself, you get to watch the Snapchat stories of your friends coming back home and enjoying the things (food) they missed most (bagels and pizza). You can go on adventures with your new found freedom of summer. Or you can be a couch potato, kicking back and enjoy binge watching Netflix without any subconscious nagging in your mind.

But what oftentimes happens to people like myself is that after a couple weeks, I run out of things to do. I've seen my friends, caught up on my favorite shows, read a plethora of books, and lazed around more than enough. The problem with summer for me is that after about a month, I get bored. I'm so used to always being so busy that I don't know what to do with myself once I fulfill my summer "quota."

I'm one of those people who thrives on a packed schedule. It keeps me alert and focused, so when summer rolls around and there's absolutely nothing to do, I start to struggle. I don't eat healthily (I'm a bored eater), exhausted during the day, can't fall asleep until the wee hours of the night, and seem to be in a lazy haze. I guess I'm just not a "summer person." During the summer months, I try my best to busy myself, making as many plans as I can so that I can look at the calendar and say I have some sort of schedule.

This past year I became an Orientation Leader for St. John's, which requires me to follow a strict agenda from mid-June until the start of school. I think that is one of the many reasons why I like being part of the program so much - it allows me the freedom of spending time with friends and family on the weekends, while busying me enough so that I don't go insane with boredom.

Don't get me wrong, I love summer. I love being able to see my friends, going to the beach, and being able to lounge around. But I find that when you're constantly busy, you need to find the perfect balance of freedom and responsibilities. It's one that I'm still working on myself. So while you lay out on your beach towels to get your tan on, I'll be looking up as many summer bucket lists as possible to perfect my summer agenda.