Get a job. Search for internships. Enroll in summer classes. Summer vacations in college are nothing like they were in high school.
I couldn't wait to finish my spring semester and just spend 3 months lounging by the pool and going on a much needed vacation. Boy was I wrong. The relaxing lasted about a week until work and school took over.
In high school, summer vacations were filled with beach trips, summer concerts, and just relaxing with friends. You didn't have to think about school for three straight months. No one expected you to work or even do anything for that matter.
When you're in college, summers are spent working. The goal is to make as much money as you can in three months to spend over the course of nine months. I've been working so much this summer that I'm actually missing school work. Some weeks I even spend more time at my job than in my own home. I do not understand the girls on my Instagram feed that go island hopping and seem to be in a different country every other week. Don't you have any responsibilities? Don't you have to work? Where's my tropical vacation?
Another aspect I underestimated about summer vacations in college is how much planning you have to do. It's like once you enter college, any free time you have is supposed to be spent planning for the future. Choosing a major was hard enough, but now I spend my summers searching for internships and figuring out what I actually want to do once I graduate. And even though I'm not going abroad for another year and a half, I am expected to start planning that too! I never had to do any planning during my summers in high school.
Count your blessings if you are a college student actually on track to graduate on time. I was so naive to think that summer was supposed to be a break from school. Summer courses are the literal worst. They might only last for five to six weeks but that just means that you are sitting in a classroom for eight hours during each of those weeks trying to cram an entire semesters worth of knowledge into your brain. Sure, taking classes over the summer will make you better off in the future but it is definitely not relaxing. Take my advice and avoid summer classes at all cost!
I never thought I'd be saying this, but I miss how easy life was during the school year. I definitely did not sign up for this. When you're a college student, you are not quite in the real world but you're still expected to have it all "together". A word of advice for high schoolers, enjoy your summer vacations because you don't have too many left. College is fun and all but I would do anything to take the whole summer off and have absolutely no responsibilities.
Is it time to go back to school yet?