The month of May, although riddled with fall-like weather, is officially summertime for college kids. Finals are over, grades are in, and much to our parents’ dismay we are home until the end of August. I can’t believe how fast my first year went. It was only a year ago when I walked across the stage with my diploma, and now I’m about to enter as a sophomore in college! The older you get the more you realize how special these years are. As college is the typical transition period between youth and adult, it has become the gradual detachment from childhood; a process so subconscious that by the time graduation rolls around, one wonders how the heck it all happened so fast. But, as with all things that come and go so quickly, we learn to appreciate them and enjoy them as much as possible. I can honestly say my experience as a college freshman has taught me so much about myself. I accomplished things I never imagined I could do as a senior in high school. I grew up, as I’m sure many other college students have, and I’ve been thankful for every experience and opportunity that I’ve been given.
As it took some time to get used to the ways of college, it has taken me a while to get used to things back home. It was hard to adjust to the fact that although I’m finished with school, the rest of the world will toil away until mid-June before they can have their summer. The ready-made meals at college had become a privilege, one that I’ve come to miss from time to time here at home. Also, with my parents at work for the better part of the day, and I being the only child still living at home, the silence in my house is amplified ten-fold. After living in an all-girl dormitory, you get used to cackling and singing and screaming from time to time. Never was there a quiet like there is here, although I’m not complaining about this change in the least!
The one thing I think all returning college students are having trouble with though is finding employment. Even the jobs I thought for sure would be hiring don’t have enough hours or money for new employees. It has been a tireless struggle trying to find a job this summer, and with the gas, insurance, and cell phone bills I pay every month, a salary is more important than ever. Plus it never helps that summertime activities are notoriously expensive. I’ve come to understand why college students are so famously frugal when it comes to saving money, and until I get a job this summer, I’m afraid I’ll be living off of mac n’ cheese for quite some time.
Despite everything though, I really think this will be a fantastic summer. I can’t wait to spend time with family and friends and just maybe forget about school, if only for a little while. Also, congratulations to those of you who’ve graduated this year! I hope you had as much fun in your senior year as I did. Have a great summer and good luck in college!
