It’s true what they say – summers change after you graduate from high school. It’s no longer just about sleeping in late, hanging out with friends, and going to the beach. It’s about finding an internship or job and catching up on all the other things that you pushed aside during the school year. Sure, summertime still includes family vacations and nights spent with friends, but it’s not the same.
A college summer is just one indication of how much harder it can be to stay close to people that you’re used to seeing every day because of things like work, class, and other responsibilities. I know that in the real world, people can’t have fun all of the time, but I’ve definitely noticed the difference between summers in high school and in college.
In high school, I used to count down the days until summer because I wouldn’t have to do schoolwork or worry about anything school related. I could count on spending most of my days lying on a raft in my pool. But in college, summer consists of so many responsibilities, and I know that after college, summer, just like every other season, will contain even more.
What I’m trying to say here is that summer vacation used to be just that: a vacation. But as I grow older, I realize that summer doesn’t have the same allure as it used to. Even though it’s sunny and the weather is hot, it doesn’t mean that responsibilities just disappear. Instead, it just means that I have to work a little harder to stop wishing I was outside tanning at the beach.
Nevertheless, I think I’ve come to appreciate the times I spend with friends and the days I spend on the beach because I understand that they’re few and far between, and I’m okay with that. Recognizing the differences in the summer season as a high school student and as a college student has enabled me to visualize how much I’ve grown and changed that much more, and even though I may have traded in a beach day for a day in the office at an internship, I’ve gained an incredible amount of knowledge due to it. So, although I’ll never give up on beach days and summer vacations, I know that transitioning into a different kind of summer just means I’m that much closer to finding my dream job.