Why You’ll Miss Summer Vacation When It’s Gone

By The Dude

It’s August. The days of sleeping in and sleeping out are waning as move-in day is approaching far too fast. Savor the summer. Savor the in-between season between class schedules. One day-sooner than you think-you’ll have had your final summer vacation. And trust me when I tell you, you’re going to miss summer vacations…I guarantee it.

As Calvin & Hobbes put it, “There’s never enough time to do all the nothing you want.” When you’re stuck to a 12 month schedule instead of a 9 month schedule you realize that you miss the days where you have the freedom to do absolutely jack squat. Nothing. What’s the point-the point is to do NOTHING.

It’s a beautiful thing when you don’t necessarily know what you’re going to do tomorrow. Eventually, you get on a work schedule (if you’re fortunate enough to have employment), and your days get booked pretty fast. Free time flies by, flexible hours stiffen into rigid time management. The sense of spontaneity takes a lot more work. When you’re not working…

Suddenly, you don’t have time to do nothing. You’re lucky if you have time to sleep and catch up on “Breaking Bad” and “Doctor Who.” And don’t get me started on traveling…

…Okay, so I got started on traveling. 2-3 months to travel with impunity. You’ll never have the luxury again unless you’re able to acquire enough wealth to afford such a luxury. No more studying abroad for a summer session. No more backpacking for 2 months around Europe. If you have a job that allows you vacation days you get about 10, maybe 3 sick days, maybe 3 personal days-that’s only 16 days out of 364 (5)!!!!! And say goodbye to the summer fling.

Ah, summer lovin’, havin’ a blast. Summer lovin’, nothing goes so fast. What’s better than fun with an expiration date on it? I mean, the time limit allows for a no fault, all fun fling. “Uh, I got to go back to school in 3 weeks so we’ll just keep it casual.” And you do! AND THAT’S IT!!! It’s more beautiful than the time vortex. How many headaches, late night parlays, and knock down drag out break ups does that save you? The freedom to commit to not committing. Suddenly you have a job, and not just a “summer job” but a full-time, or a couple of part-time, jobs and you find there’s no expiration date imposed by the higher educational system. Just a bunch of crappy confrontations and late night shouting matches and maybe some crying and some broken beer bottles…

Oh yeah, a job. You know how you get a job in the summer to make some extra cash until you get back to school? Yeah, suddenly the extra cash equates to RENT. And Ramen. It’s not a summer job anymore, it’s your vocation until you find something better.

Free time, freedom to travel, freed from having to dump or get dumped, a freeing time-out from the rigors of “real life.” Summer vacation is a safehaven And you’ll miss it when it’s gone. On the other hand, when a door closes, a window opens, and there’s nothing like making a living, making a career, and making a life. There’s more to the world than summer vacation. It’s tough to accept but you can’t get 3 months of vacation out of every year and expect the country to continue to prosper…unless you’re, you know, from France or Scandinavia, or a half dozen other westernized countries…

Putting away the sunblock,

The Dude

[Lead image via Maridav/Shutterstock]