Ah, the time all college students have been looking forward to and dreading for many months. Summer. A time that comes with no obligations, no responsibility and no rules, right? Wrong. Yes, the first few days when you come home you get to sleep in until absurd hours of the day to catch up on the sleep you lost during finals week in a room stacked high with the 20 boxes of dorm items you moved home are wonderful. Then one morning, reality will hit. Hard. You'll wake up and realize you've slept away a week of your summer already and it's time you do something with your life. The week of nagging from your mom about how much of a mess your room is will force you to lock yourself in your room for a whole day while Parks and Rec plays in the background.
Now comes the harsh reality of college. Your new and unimproved bank account. You log into your once flourishing account and realize all of the fun you had away at school came with a price and now you have approximately $19.32 left in your bank account. The solution to this? A summer job. Whether it's waitressing tables, mowing lawns, babysitting or a paid internship, that lovely week of sleeping in is long in the past. The time has come to start setting alarms again. Isn't being an adult fun?
So here we are a month into summer and while I love catching up with my best friends from high school and love spending time with my family, I miss my college friends. I got used to the luxury of being a 30 second to a 10-minute walk from both my best friends and fun bars where my parents couldn't yell at me for coming home on a Thursday at 2 a.m. despite having an 8 a.m. the next day. (Sorry mom.) The independence at school has a short span when you come home and you realize you aren't your own boss anymore. Especially when you aren't cooking your own meals and doing your own laundry. A month in I've realized that the numerous group messages, Facetime calls and Snapchats aren't enough to fill the void satisfied while away at college. Unlike high school where all of your friends were within a 15-minute radius from one another, the friends you meet at college can live all over the country. Luckily, reunions can be had because everyone is just a car ride or plane ride away. (Again, why the summer job is so crucial.)
As I count down the days to go back to my home away from home, I'm taking this time to shed away that freshman 15 (It's a real thing folks), get a nice tan, make some money and enjoy the luxury of home cooked meals. That being said, part of me can't wait to lose that money and eat microwavable meals while making lifelong memories with my best friends during another wild year at the best college in the world. See you soon Dayton.
