Wake up. Take a shower. Drive to campus. Sit in class. Go to work. Drive home. Do homework while trying to stay awake. Somehow find time to eat during all of that. Go to bed. Wake up and do it all over again. I do that year round. I'm tired of being tired.
It's exhausting, going from school to work every single day. It's like you have zero downtime to just relax and do what you like to do. At school, you're expected to pay attention to every word the professor says, and if your mind drifts, you miss something. At work, you're supposed to smile non-stop and consciously make decisions, ignoring the fact that all you want to do is go home and take a nap. If you aren't in a fantastic mood, you upset the customer, and no one wants an upset customer.
It's monotonous; doing the same thing over and over again. Summer semester starts right after the spring semester. The only break you get is maybe three weeks between summer and autumn, and typically that's spent working and sleeping so you can survive your autumn class schedule. It's a never-ending cycle of school, and I desperately need a break.
You're stuck doing homework instead of hanging out with your friends. You get a text inviting you out, but you have a huge test the next day. While all of your friends are at the pool or getting a drink, you're stuck at home studying so you can pass. For example, this year I was a counselor at a week-long cross country camp. One night, all of the other counselors were down at the volleyball courts, and I was stuck in the lobby of the dorm preparing for my final presentation the next day. You miss out on so many fun things during the actual school year, but other people have school work, too. It's terrible having to miss out during the summer; it feels like you're the only one not being able to participate.
I think the worst part about summer classes is you can't take a vacation. If you go out of town for a week, you miss too many classes. It's even worse if you're taking a 6-week course. If you miss more than one class, there is no way of catching back up so you might as well either count yourself out or stay home for the summer.
If you're debating whether you should take summer classes or not, please take my advice and don't do it. It may be tempting to graduate earlier than you should or get some classes out of the way, but what's the point in finishing early if you're going to be burnt out in the end? Take your time in college, do your best in your classes, and graduate when you should. If summer classes are the difference between you graduating on time or a semester late, then graduate a semester late; I promise it isn't the end of the world. I know having a big kid job sounds fun and all, but be a kid while you can. Once you graduate, there's no going back.
Don't make my mistake and take classes every summer because I regret every second of it. I wish someone would have told me all of this when I was scheduling my summer away. Get an internship, travel the world, find out what you're into and have some fun before you have too many responsibilities to enjoy it.
