I once read somewhere that “summer should get a ticket for speeding.”
Personally, I’d like to hand a ticket to this one. The moment I took off my graduation gown and tossed my cap, time took on a mind of its own. Suddenly I was halfway through August in a blink of an eye, with barely anything done that I had wanted to tick off on my summer list. Too much work, not enough play, too much thinking, not enough doing.
Is it too cliché to think that the summer after graduation is the summer to get stuff done? The acquiring of dreams, and the final freedom of being an irresponsible teenager, before you’re packed off and ready to face your impending adulthood, that’s what this summer was supposed to be about.
So what are we all thinking now, as we stand outside our dorm rooms, staring at the place we are supposed to live in for the next eight months? Are we pleased at what we’ve accomplished? Or are our fingers shaking while we grip our suitcase handles, thinking I’m not ready for this?
If I were a proud accomplisher, I would easily list off to you all the useful things I have done this summer. Sadly, that isn’t the case. Let’s see, that Saw marathon was…pretty gruesome. At least we got some laughs out of it. Then there was that failed attempt at hiding the fact my brother and I threw a party while our parents were out of town. Being a Teenager 101: You Have To Be a Good Liar. And there were the many days I sat around doing…nothing. Oh, the stress of it. As much as I hate to admit it, I’ve had better summers. But wasn’t this supposed to be the one?
We planned trips. Work was always in the way. Why is it that, as soon as responsibility looms, we suddenly cower in its presence and think, I can hit the snooze button one more time, let’s put it off until tomorrow? And we crawl back into our teenage covers and reminisce the good times, the ones we can’t really remember but the fact you can’t just stands as a glowing reminder that indeed, it was a good night.
Maybe I’m horrible at relating to people, and the majority of you are perfectly capable of having a summer worthy of remembering and are laughing cruelly at this article, so yes, go ahead, have a laugh. At least I can say I successfully made someone chuckle.
Trent has been good to us. Thanks to Facebook, we’ve already connected with each other. Our questions are answered, our fears eased. I think the excitement of ISW is mostly holding us through until classes actually start, and that’s when we’re going to start second-guessing ourselves.
So maybe the “most important of summers” should become the “hardest of summers.” The pressure is certainly applied. You have to learn to let go of people close to you, even those you spent a vague four years of high school with and only recognize them now as valuable acquaintances. Skype becomes your lifeline. And for most of us, home doesn’t hold the same value anymore.
We’ve got to learn not to be so afraid of the unknown. Sometimes I wish I could press the fast-forward button of my life and get past all the awkwardness and terrifying reality of being a first-year. This isn’t the movies. This is regrettably, understandably real life. And I’m looking forward to discovering how it all begins.
