When the calendars reach the end of August, I will dread having to roll out of bed for class. I having to go through a daily routine, only to give up halfway through because I'm out of time. And don't get me started on zoning out during lectures because I did not get enough sleep the night before. I've been doing this for the last 16 or so years of my life. Gimme a break. Wait, I don't have to do that anymore? Yay! Wait a minute...

It's weird not having to worry about making preparations to go back to school.

I don't have to worry about making sure I have enough pens and notebooks. Gone are the days where I am dragged out to Target or Kohls to by new clothes and shoes. I'm no longer in a position where I have to be in two places at once. I no longer have to worry about tests or big group projects where one person is likely to slack off.

Instead, I have to worry about getting proper identification so I can get a job. I have to worry about being at work at 4 or 5 in the morning to stock shelves, unloading each cart properly in 30 minutes or less. I have to worry about paying bills and paying off my student loans (yikes).

I was like a lot of kids growing up: I didn't want the summer to end. I didn't want to sit in a stuffy classroom with very few breaks. I wanted to be playing baseball all day, every day. I saw school as a hindrance to being able to do what was fun. Even in college, when the option to play sports was taken from me due to my age, at least I had other things that I would have rather been doing. I had my talk shows or my fraternity stuff. I could hit the gym when I wanted to. I had free time to do what either what I needed or what I wanted.

That's gone now.

I can't just do what I want because what I want to do requires resources (ie money). I need to find a job where I put in 8 hours a day, repeat that four or five more times a week, and collect a paycheck after two weeks. I need to pay for my Internet and my groceries. On top of that, I need to figure out a way into a better employment situation.

Now there is a chance that I will go back to school to pursue a new degree. But that doesn't mean everything will go back to the way it was. I will still have to work to pay for tuition. I will still have to be an adult in the real world. It won't be the same, but it will be something that I know.

So to anyone wishing they could skip school and just go right into the workforce, my advice to you is just to enjoy the simplicity of your lives right now. You may have to listen to a boring professor drone on about a subject you could care less about (gen ed requirements, gotta love them), but it is honestly better than having no idea what the next day holds.