Angles: Is summer overrated?
Many students count down the days of the school year — waiting, yearning, almost salivating — in anticipation for the figurative and literal beacon of light that is summer. For many, the break marks how they survived classes and other hardships during the year. Now sit back, relax and enjoy some much-needed time off.
But on a campus as complex as ours, with students from so many walks of life, this scenario cannot truly apply to everyone.
Summer weather can seem cheery, if the Sioux Falls weather permits. Outdoor activities bring laughter to local parks. Downtown comes alive with shoppers, strollers and sightseers.
But for some, it serves as a transition to a new routine, just filled with the same hard work. In particular, graduating students might have complicated feelings about leaving campus when they’re not coming back next fall as the usual flood of life returns. International students may be left with an unclear idea of where to live or whether they’ll be going home.
The more unique the circumstances of someone’s background, the harder it may become to live a “normal” summer break. But does this ring true for the majority? Is there a correct opinion? And if so, which?
Below, two students discuss their personal experiences and perspectives on summer.
Madisyn Stogsdill, Forum Editor
No, summer is serene.
Elsa Friesen is a sophomore English major.
This school year, I have repeatedly asked myself, “When will there be a time that I don’t feel constantly exhausted and overwhelmed?”
Busyness is a commonality among Augustana students, one frequently explored by my colleagues in the Mirror. The issue is entirely life-consuming, which may be why it makes a repeated appearance in our publication.
Don’t misunderstand me: I recognize that it’s a privilege to be this anxious about my education and activities.
It’s an honor to attend and be so involved at a liberal arts university like Augustana, and it’s important to feed my brain challenging information.
My duties on and off campus are exciting and fulfilling — I would give tours for admissions for free, working at Starbucks gives me an off-campus community, singing in the Augustana Choir fills my spirit and writing for the Mirror gives me a taste of what vocation feels like.
There’s nothing I can let go of, as much as it pains me to keep a foot in every circle. But every word written, every assignment turned in and every sleepless night leads me one step closer to the student’s true opportunity for a break: summer.
Summer is sacred.
Some argue that summer brings a new and different kind of anxiety because of the need to find a job or internship that fits within one’s desired career field while also being lucrative.
Not everyone can have a summer of leisure, Elsa.
I hear you. In fact, I will also be partaking in a summer of madness. This June, I’ll be in the FSC every day taking general chemistry.
You may be asking: why then, Elsa, if you love summer enough to write a whole argument advocating for it, did you decide to take a summer class? Doesn’t that defeat your point? And why, for Ole’s sake, is that class general chemistry? Well, I never said I love summer because it’s three months of total worry-free relaxation.
It may be controversial, but somehow the idea of studying something with mostly concrete answers in an extremely structured and condensed way really relaxes me.
Moreover, if I had to take my required lab science during the regular school year as a Humanities major while balancing homework, print weeks and choral performances, I think I might set myself on fire.
You can relax, Angie Hummel (and any mandatory reporters reading this) — I’m mostly kidding.
Ultimately, regardless of what a student does during the summer, summer does mandate a break so that the fall actually feels like a homecoming instead of a prison sentence.
At what other point in our lives will we get three months out of the year to do something entirely different from our regular roles? While our education majors might live this life forever, many of us will be spending our adult summers in the same office, lab or newsroom as we will for the rest of the year.
In the end, any undesirable summer internship, job or class is made infinitely more bearable with the promise of a warm welcome back to campus during the fall.
Yes, it is unpredictably stressful.
Madisyn Stogsdill is a junior journalism major.
Before we dive into this, I must acknowledge that I am a known workaholic, zipping around campus with my sweet-cream cold brew and attending meeting after meeting. My Google Calendar is essentially a double rainbow of colors. So when the classes are put on pause, students aren’t on campus and silence falls over Augustana…yeah, it gets weird.
Summer is a great time for some relaxation. But for those of us who find solace in overstimulation, it isn’t exactly preferable. I want to focus on the impact that this break has on students — since I don’t really need to back up the claims that humidity, mosquitoes and an increase in violence aren’t exactly enjoyable things.
I’ll boil down my hatred to three parts: isolation, pressure to spend your time in a certain way and the privilege it truly is to be able to enjoy your time off.
Depending on your social circle and academic year, summer may take your friends to significantly different places — both geographically and in stages of life. For seniors, this campus purges you. You’re expected to jet off to your overpriced apartment or go back to your hometown. This is a period of immense stress when everyone is expected to land an internship right after throwing their cap in the air.
For those not yet walking across the stage, your friends still disappear. Most go back home, and every member of the group goes on their own sidequest. Yes, this means some epic stories will be written along the way, but the lore will not contain their counterparts. Great time to find oneself, but not easy if one doesn’t have the guidance of their friends.
I’ve been in therapy for the past three years, and the most difficult times are always during breaks. All of a sudden, the routines I’ve clung to are torn away, leaving me to hold onto nothing but myself.
This leads to pressure being put on individuals, especially college students, to “make the most of their time” and live life to the fullest during the summer.
A quick scroll on social media during this time would reveal pictures of the Bahamas, a trip to Miami, biking across Europe or basically saving a child from a burning building.
This is unrealistic. However, those who have abnormal resources can’t see why someone wouldn’t do the same as them.
Time to get sappy, and dare I say, sensitive. I’m a first-generation student going to college on basically full scholarships.
I pay for my groceries, my travel and any other expenses that may come my way. I get little to no financial support from my parents. Not complaining — this is the life I chose, but I don’t exactly have a stable family dynamic to return to during the break.
Breaks over the holidays and summer suddenly bring awareness to the fact that not everyone has a blood family to return to or spend their time off with.
Not everyone has a house to go back to or a town they’re welcomed in. It is an absolute privilege to be able to leave campus and live with a roof over your head and love all around you, knowing that three square meals will come your way each day.
For those who get to enjoy the sweatiness of summer and are able to sunbathe without a care, enjoy it while it lasts. You may not have this moment forever, and please be kind to those who are less fortunate than you.
