Summer as a College Student

Remember the days when summer was by far the greatest time of the year? I remember when all day everyday was playing outside, going to Carowinds, going camping, and just generally enjoying myself. We all counted down the days until summer and overwhelming joy that accompanied that first breath of true summer air you inhaled as you walked out of school for last time for three months.

Now, I hate summer.

Summer's become a burden to the college student or, at the very least, a burden to this college student. Its three months of moving back into a world of rules and restrictions; a world of constant explanation of intentions. I have more responsibility with my job during the summer than I do with class during the school year. These are the most stressful times of my year by far. Days upon weeks of spreadsheets, conducting and tabulating surveys, meetings, meetings to plan for meetings, meetings to discuss the outcome of a meeting, etc. The sad part of it is, work is probably the most interesting thing I do during the summer.

But work isn't the worst part of summer. Its the seemingly pointless and transient nature of the season. Summer has become an inconsequential pretense to the school year. Its the state-mandated break in between Carolina Cup and football season. This summer I've started to realize that summer isn't a time where you can really build anything. Its like trying to protect a sand castle from the rising tide. The best that you can do is attempt to maintain. Its difficult to build a lasting relationship or cultivate a friendship that will meaningfully last into the coming academic year. This is a sad truth, but (it would seem) a truth nevertheless. Even when you feel like it's the right thing to do, convincing someone else that what you've got is lasting is tough.

Well, I suppose just like everything else I'll figure out summer right before I graduate and everything changes again.