During the school year, I always feel like the days are long but the weeks are short — and in that frame of reference, the year itself feels shortest of all. And though I know it won’t be the case, I’m hoping the summer doesn’t go by so quickly. I’m trying to take in my surroundings and appreciate this time off as much as I can; I’m thankful for a change of pace from long pants and long nights in the library, even though I miss my friends and how much we laugh together at Tufts. In adjusting to the slower pace of summer and both the comforts and constraints of being at home, I’m coming to find that college summers are a mixture of restoring your well-being by slowing down to do things that excite you, and finding something purposeful to occupy your time.
But what exactly does that look like, you ask? Allow me to mention a few of the adventures myself and my friends have planned for the next three-and-a-half months.
I’m enjoying a month spent relaxing at home in Colorado — save for a good ol’ road trip to a film festival and Utah’s Bryce Canyon — before heading to D.C. in June to work for a summer program called High School Diplomats. The program facilitates a cultural exchange between American and Japanese high school students and has been one of the most meaningful involvements of my life since I first participated as a student in 2013, so I am excited and grateful to be in a leadership role for the program this year!
It’s not bragging if I’m talking about my friends’ adventures, right? Good, because in NYC, they include internships for Columbia Records and a social change non-profit. In Beijing, a friend from Seoul is practicing her Chinese and learning econ as an intern abroad. In San Francisco, another is working for a girls’ engineering camp with UC Berkeley after traveling to Guatemala to explore with friends from high school. In Medford/Somerville, friends stay to intern for local organizations, research with professors, make money, or earn credits. Some friends are studying abroad with Tufts in Talloires, working or taking classes at home, and traveling with family.
Whatever it is, I continue to be impressed and inspired by the ambition and creativity of my peers, and I can’t wait to see how we all bring what we learn from our experiences back to campus in the fall. What a privilege it is to be part of this community and these individuals doing big — Jumbo, if you will — things during time “off.”