Summer Time

It seems to me like the summer is really getting to me. Summertime is for hanging out with friends, going to the beach, vacationing, relaxing, generally being in a happy mood. But I am in a sort of rut now, I think. Playing video games and watching movies can get you only so far through a summer. And as weird as it is to say, I think I may be looking forward to going back to school, if only for something to do.

I have been taking summer school every year for a long time, so being done this late in the summer is strange. My family's vacation is not dependent on my school schedule, and I have more "me" time, at least when I am not working. But having non-stop classes for so long messes with my mind. Because now that I am done for the whole summer, I don't know what to do with myself.

During the academic year, there is always something going on. Organizations have events, your friends are hanging out, you have to go downtown to buy groceries and supplies, and of course there is lots and lots of studying to be had in between classes. Thanksgiving break and Christmas Vacation were just long enough where you had some room to breathe but not so long that you start to get restless. You knew you were going back to school in a few weeks and you could use the time to prepare or start ramping up the relaxing process.

In the summer, you can take a summer class to get ahead in your academic schedule or even to retake a class you might not have done well in before. And they usually take up about half the summer, so you only have about the same amount of time as Christmas Vacation to relax, which I am totally used to.

But now... My summer class has been done a couple weeks now, I have received my grade, and now there is nothing left for me but work all week and try to relax. I am not sure what to do anymore. There's no homework to do when I get home, no test looming over my head, no missing assignments that nag me every night until I fall asleep. All this stress-free living is driving me up a wall. I am starting to come up with excuses to mark up a calendar. I am starting to think about work while I am at home. I am starting to think about studying something, anything. It is freaking me out.

This is what trying to relax feels like. Relaxing is so....stressful!

So, I think what I am trying to say is, I think I miss school.

Whoah. Did I really just say that?

Oh no wait, I didn't, because I wrote it. Okay, I feel better.

No, that's a lie. It still feels weird.

But I think the weirdest part of all of it is that I am on campus every day for my job. Still giving campus tours and filing applications just like always! But I am on campus without any classes to go to. It's like the school is taunting me!

Fortunately (if any of the rest of you can call it that) I move back into the fraternity house August 6th. The semester doesn't start until the 20th, but we have Work Week, where everyone living in the house moves in early and we work on house repairs, clean things up, and generally do the kinds of chores that are only necessary once a semester. The plan is to start earlier than we usually do (hence the early move-in date) so we have some time to relax and prepare for the impending cranial onslaught that is the fall semester.

Can't say hard labor really appeals to me all that much, but I am looking forward to getting back together with my brothers and getting ready for the fall.