The Expectations Of The First College Summer At Home
I'm moving back in with... my parents?!?
Summer is basically here, and you know we're all very much excited! However, with the year winding down by the few days we have left, there can be mixed feelings about what to expect moving back home for the summer after the first year of college.
Here's a list of end of the year and beginning of summer emotions that are all too real:
1. "Oh my gosh it's ending, what am I going to do?"
Regardless of how freshman year was, we must all move on to bigger and brighter things. Although, the hard part is figuring out what to do with life when not a student. Do you go back to that crappy summer job to pay off college debt? Take summer classes(me!) Or, take a long, slow, do nothing for two months kind of vacation?
2. Who am i actually going to keep up with?
With constantly meeting new people, it may seem hard to figure out who you will actually keep up with. Also, with people's busy summer schedules it may be difficult.
3. "I'm moving back in with...my parents!?"
Moving back home can have lots of mixed emotions. For example, is my mom still going to treat me like a high schooler after being self-sufficient for an entire year? Will I get bossed around if I don't find a summer job? After finals, it's a whole new list of unknowns.
4. I wish I had an apartment
You know if you signed that on-campus housing contract for year two, you definitely want your own apartment by summer. Of course, paid for by your parents because college students have no money. This eliminates the "I have to move back in with my parents for the summer" slogan. Still out here proving to mom that I can be self-sufficient.
5. Maymester
For those of us wackos who couldn't get enough of studying this year, we decided to take a Maymester. Let's face it, some of us have to to stay in our major, bring up our GPA, get into the classes we want, or simply be done with college sooner. If you are bored over the summer and have nothing to do, this is a great option.
6. More change
With the end of this year, comes a new year full of more experiences and learning, and definitely more friends. Going home brings back memories of being a high school kid living out the days until you went to college and before life actually became challenging.
7. Be with friends and family
Take time to be with family and friends that you don't see as much. These can be high school friends that are home for the summer and go to different colleges or a quick visit to Grandma and Grandpa.
8. Returning to school will be different
Regardless of how strongly you feel about this year, every year is different. There will be different classes, friends, living space. The college home that I've grown to love will change just as I do.
This may be the last free summer before people are landing internships and jobs for the summer. Lastly, take time to enjoy time off while you have it. Because, before you know it, we'll be working the nine to five all the time.
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Baseball May Be Dying, But It Certainly Is NOT A Boring Sport To Watch
There is something so nostalgic about being at the ballpark on a summer day with your friends or family. With its rich history, baseball ties generations and brings people together.
In my house, being a baseball enthusiast is not optional. You fall asleep once the game ends with the last out and you wake up to the highlights on MLB Network at breakfast the next morning. Vacations are typically a road trip of sorts to whichever stadium our team is playing at that week. Watching baseball has been the one activity that brings my family together without fail. So undoubtedly, I will argue that baseball is one of the best sports out there, and the common response of, "baseball is such a boring sport," is a complete misconception.
While I can see where this opinion is coming from, it's impossible to ignore the fact that baseball is becoming steadily less popular among younger generations. The commissioner thinks that altering a tried and true tradition, by knocking a few minutes off the game taking away intentional walk pitches and limiting pitchers mound visits, will re-engage future generations. I don't agree with these changes because getting to the heart of the issue stems from disproving the common points that non-baseball fans try to make.
"The game is sooo long."
The average MLB game time this past season was three hours and five minutes, which is only one minute longer than the average football game from the 2017 NFL season. People have no problem with NFL games holding their attention spans. Some would argue that this is because the game is not as fast paced as basketball or football, which brings me to the next complaint.
"Nothing even happens."
If by nothing happens you mean that there is not constant movement around the court or field like in basketball, football, or soccer, then I guess this is a valid statement. But there is so much that goes on between pitches that leaves room for strategy and discussion between viewers. Baseball lends itself to constant thinking between the players, managers, and fans. The many intricacies and tension throughout the entire game make baseball the type of sport that is more enjoyable the more you know about it.
"It's slow paced."
I guess you could argue that baseball lacks the constant movement up and down the court or field that other sports boast, but baseball makes up for this aspect in so many ways. Baseball doesn't have a salary cap which means that you have both be big city, money spending, free agent buying teams as well as low market teams that build their farm systems. You never have the same teams consistently winning or the same matchup like the NBA. In basketball, you need star players to win. Football, you need a solid quarterback and to a certain extent, you need star players in the same way that you do in basketball. There are so many MLB teams that rise to be playoff contenders from nothing within a few seasons, making for a dynamic league and playoff picture every single year. And as far as the pace of the game itself, I can see how at a glance other sports would seem to hold an onlooker's attention for longer. But if you look at the number of commercial breaks the NFL has nowadays between timeouts, penalties, kickoffs, and punt returns, the amount of time you spend watching the action part of the game itself is not too different from baseball.
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My last, probably most overused, but also the most important point is the fact that no other sport can hold the title "America's Pastime." There is a tradition and a history behind baseball that's more deeply rooted in America's history than any other sport. There is something so nostalgic about being at the ballpark on a summer day with your friends or family. With its rich history, baseball ties generations and brings people together. Hopefully, this tradition will remain deeply rooted in American culture, so that others can experience the magic that being raised in a baseball family brought me.