The future (and other things)

It’s the end of the 2013-14 academic year, and, of course, I have to write the obligatory column encouraging everyone to make the most of the summer and to not dedicate it solely to playing video games or laying out at the beach.

But I won’t tell you that you should be working at a job and an internship while taking summer classes.

I believe it is foolish to place undue stress upon a person with the sole objective of “getting ahead” or “preparing oneself for the future,” because, once accepted, we begin treading dangerous waters.

The summer isn’t about attempting to cram as many activities as possible into a-few-month span, nor is it about wasting all of one’s time goofing around.

These are the two extremes of a spectrum of choices.

At least how I see it, summer is not only a time to relax from the academic year, but it is also a time to get an idea of what our future is going to be like once we get through this thing we call college.

For many of us, it will be the longest uninterrupted time span we have experienced in which we are not constrained by a rigid academic schedule.

This is going to be a time to determine what our futures will be like.

For the people working at an internship or job, they will at least catch a glimpse of what their actual career will be like without the stress tackling internships, jobs and a full class load.

They will begin to understand what life will be like, going into work every day and coming home to a house, knowing there will not be a weekend of continual partying ahead of them (maybe).

For the people who are pursuing art, this is an opportunity to really focus on their creative selves, which is a blessing and a curse.

Gone is the time of scribbling poems on paper napkins between classes, but also gone is the time of not necessarily expecting oneself to write a poem.

So take the opportunity this summer to see if you enjoy this path you have started.
Appreciation of life is just as important down the road as it is now.

And for those taking summer classes, I wish you the best of luck. I will be plugging away at my computer at home taking two online courses.

Just remember as you chip away at those extra credit hours, take some time to enjoy your non-academic life as well.

allenjo@indiana.edu
@IAmJoshAllen