Summer. Summer. Summer. Summer. The mantra we all repeat throughout the whole school year, but especially in March and April, when we know it's so close, yet so far away. Finals can't come and go soon enough. But this time, when summer comes, for most of us, it means going home. There is relief in that, in going home for a few months with no school to worry about.
However, before college, summer was only a sweet, sweet break, not bittersweet. This time, we have to leave some of our best friends as we all go our separate ways for the summer. Summer used to be when we could hang out with our friends all summer, and to an extent, we can still do that, but it's hard to hang out with someone regularly if they are two hours away. Sure, you have your family and your high school friends, but it's different, because if you're like me, you found some of your best friends in college, and it's hard to let them go, if only for the summer. You say you're going to get together a few times, and maybe you do, but it still isn't the same. It's the biggest difference between summer before college and after your first year of college.
There is also summer school. Not everyone takes summer classes, but a lot of college students do. Summer used to be a time when you could forget about school and grades for a while, but for a lot of us now, that is not the case. It's not like our summer is filled with as many classes as a fall or spring semester, but it is still more responsibility than we are used to having during the summer. We have to start thinking about our future more, as scary as that is.
And another thing that is different about summer now is that we have found another place that we call home. So while we are going home, we are also leaving a home, and that is hard. It's hard leaving all the places you used to spend time studying or hanging out with friends. It is especially hard leaving your favorite restaurants (okay, maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but still). The hardest thing to leave is your new-found freedom. If you move off to college, you haven't had your parents to guide you and tell you what to do every step of the way.
However, when you move home for the summer, you know it will be different. Your parents will unintentionally take away some of that freedom, and it's not entirely a bad thing, but it is not what you've become accustomed to, and it is much different from summers before college.
One thing about summer hasn't changed: it is undoubtedly less stressful than during the school year, and it is a much needed break to relax your mind. However, many things about it have changed, and they will never be the same. Summer is still summer, though, so enjoy every second of it.
