So this summer has been a good one (still is). I mean nothing special has happened but all around I’ve felt like I’ve had a real summer – not one jam packed with school courses and part-time jobs. Does that mean I’m lazy…probably. But hey, a summer only feels like a real summer when you’ve had some time to yourself to do what you want. This sentiment is probably not shared by a lot of people and before the summer started I felt like I was being selfish. My parents wanted me to get a full time job somehow related to my program of study and they are quite good at guilt-tripping people. My boyfriend shared this same outlook but I’m not going to compare productiveness with a PhD student. Anyways, I was feeling pretty bad about wanting to have a summer to myself (which, by the way, includes taking a summer school course and working part-time). But yah know what, I have completely and entirely enjoyed this summer. Sure I could have tried to pursue a research assistant position in hydrology. Instead I focused on the things that I can afford to care about while I have the time.
Case 1. Spending more time with the people I care about. Yep, the classic old “cherish your friends” bit. If being in university has taught me anything about external relationships it’s that you have to make time to see the people you care about because during the school year, you sure as hell don’t have any to spare. And being a person with few close friends, I wouldn’t mind keeping them. Also, it feels pretty damn good to put your relationship with your boyfriend before anything else (okay, maybe not school but they were night classes, so I was flexible). Being the mushy romantic type (to a certain extent) I think it’s important to spend as much time with the one you love ..for obvious reasons, but also because you might not have as much time to spend with them later. I don’t know where we’re going to end up, but it would suck to know I didn’t devote as much as I could to our relationship. And speaking from personal experience, I really think we’ve grown closer and stronger. Okay I’m done with the romance crap.
Case 2. Music, literature and art. It feels nice to be able to pick up a 470-page book and read it in three days because you have the time. It feels nice to spend a day at the Art Gallery of Ontario looking at abstract expressionism (even if it does give you a headache after two hours). It also feels nice to be able to pick up a pencil or a pic and be creative. I really do think it’s important to spend time around the arts whether you’re watching it or producing it. It makes you feel productive in a different way than traditional work does. Also…it feels nice.
Here’s the thing. Having a summer to yourself is not unproductive, if you spend it doing things that are important to you or that you don’t usually have time for during the rest of the year. I guess this is subjective. If laying on your couch eating Lays Dill Pickle chips and watching reruns of Party of Five is important to you…well go for it. The main idea is that you don’t feel like you’ve wasted three months of your life. And I sure as hell don’t.
Anything & Everything 