Okay. You’re a liberal arts student at a polytechnic school. Your friends in engineering and business or whatever are going on about their summer internship at some multinational sweatshop weapons manufacturer corporation, and you’re feeling pretty left out. What’s a philosopher or historian or scholar of literature to do with three free months and a difficult-to-sell degree?
Fret not. Here is your one-stop guide to the perfect liberal arts summer.
1. Use the time to catch up on all the stuff you’ve been meaning to read!
I bet you’ve promised yourself up and down that you’ll finally read all of Infinite Jest. Well, why don’t you actually get around to doing it!
2. Keep wearing black.
We all know that here at Cal Poly, it’s official College of Liberal Arts policy to always wear all-black every day. Well, why stop over the summer? I know it’s hot, but real Liberal Arts kids never, ever stop wearing black. You’ll strike up loads of engaging conversations when you waltz onto the beach in a pair of black skinny jeans and your favorite Doc Martens.
3. Get a job at a hip café.
No liberal arts college story will be complete unless you can casually refer to the summer you spent making lattes at a cute little hipster coffee shop. Actually, I know some majors have a requirement that you complete at least 200 hours working as a barista.
4. Write a novel.
Do you remember that story idea you had a while back? – The one about the disillusioned artist living in Brooklyn who writes poetry about the diverse residents of her not-yet-gentrified neighborhood? You should finally write it! You have some time without the pressure of academic writing; use it to lay down some creative prose!
5. Have a summer romance! (But make sure it ends badly.)
When you’re old and thinking about your college years, you’ll definitely want to be able to recall the summer you spent wildly in love, near-sighted and impatient, that ended in a giant fireball of pain and remorse. If you’re on the more creative side of Liberal Arts (like lit or theater or art), this will provide excellent resources for the next year of poetry, one-act plays or paintings. Think of all the great art that will come out of your shattered heart!
6. Teach yourself a foreign language.
Actually, that’s too broad—teach yourself French. All the coolest grad students have a solid understanding of French, so if you ever want to be at that level, you’d better start learning now. Plus, reading de Beauvoir or Lacan or Hugo in the original French will make you freakin’ sick as hell.
7. Take it easy.
Try to relax and have a little fun. All college students need to de-stress and focus on their wellbeing and personal development. The summer is the perfect time to spend soul-searching and reflecting, putting everything in context. Yeah, you don’t have some glitzy spot as a manufacturing management intern at a potato chip factory, but humanities kids do just fine long-term. You have a great set of skills and tools to make your life meaningful. You know the history, artistic significance, or literary value of the places you go, the events in your life, or the art you experience—use your knowledge, and have a fun, relaxing, engaging summer.