Summer Bummer

(I'm back, y'all!

Before I move on to the topic at hand, I'd like to briefly say that the past 15 days have been a test of my will and stamina. And I'm in no mood to write when all my energy has been zapped by noon. That's why my blog has been stagnant during this time, if anyone out there cares. But as I was saying...)

It's late July, and this is a unique crossroad over the journey of a calendar year.

Whether entering the next grade up in elementary school, college, or somewhere in between, most children, teenagers, and young adults across the nation will be a slave to academia in the next month or so. Those three little words, "Back To School", are a gold rush for many stores (as I'm typing this, #VZWBack2School is trending on Twitter), but are treated like fool's gold for their target audience. Just the idea of shopping for new clothes and school supplies sounds like nails going across a chalkboard. Ah, the horror!

Surely, you must sympathize for those caught in this perpetual rut for yet another year. I mean, who in their right mind would trade in three months of relaxtion for nine months of grueling work on a whim? No one, that's who! And at this time of year, the mood has shifted from joyful innocence to a gradual discontent.

Every day from here on out is one day closer to that first day of school. Oh, sure, that's always been the case since school let out for summer, but no one (again) in their right mind would think about the forthcoming school year in May, or June, or the first half of July. But now that the second half is almost at a close, it'd be dumb not to think about learning anew.

I think I can speak for everybody when I wish summer break would never end. I'd love for nothing more to do with my free time than to stay up late, drink a few cans of Coca-Cola, and watch hours of SportsCenter (in no particular order). Just the thought of getting up at anytime I want to do just about anything I want is the epitome of summer break. That's not to say I haven't been productive the past two and a half months. Among others, I finally earned my driver's license, tried (and failed) to find a summer job, renovated a house straight out of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and am several pages away from finishing my third novel in as many months.

Yet, the scholar within me is all but awake from his hibernation, and he wants nothing more than to return to campus. Because while summer break is well deserving after nine long months of homework, essays, tests, and projects, the monotony of it all makes me yearn for the busy nature of academia.

Part of me can't wait to meet my professors and put a face to the name. Part of me can't wait to read my textbooks and gain a better understanding of each subject. Part of me can't wait to balance school with a potential work-study job and a volunteering stint with my local hospital. I guess the complexity of it all starkly contrasts the simplicity of summer break, and I'm a sucker for paradoxes.

But I also realize that, for as long as there is another tomorrow, another summer break is inevitable. It may seem very far away in those first few weeks from late August through the month of September, but its there, hidden beneath all those deadlines and other priorities. When spring break is over and April gives way to May, the dread of returning to school will be scoffed at, for that is when freedom will reign supreme.

Until then, all I've got to look forward to when school begins is a full-time schedule and football. And am I thankful that lockout's finally over.