Don’t get me wrong! Going home is great after an endless semester of hard work, but three months is a bit overwhelming and long. Not many students realize what their college has to offer in the summer and what benefits come along with staying in one’s college town. I decided to take the initiative to explore the community of Kent while also catching up on credits this summer.
With switching my major last summer, I’ve been playing catchup in order to graduate on time. The most strategic way to do this was taking courses in the summer. At first I thought, “This is going to suck.” But I realized that I’ll be getting ahead in my studies rather than lounging around and being lazy for three months straight. The only con to taking summer courses is that I’ll be away from my family in Indiana for a long time, but I always have the weekends to visit, and my family can always come visit me at college as well.
Being out-of-state also makes it hard to be close to friends. With being here in Kent, I can spend my summer with the friends that live nearby or are staying for the summer as well. Last summer I had to make endless trips over and over again to see my friends here in Ohio, but this year is different. Now I’ll be much closer to my friends and will get to spend more time with them rather than my car.
Another pro: The campus and city are a ghost town, and not in a creepy way either. The community is more peaceful and relaxing. There are less crowded streets to wander on, and there are less crowded coffee shops to relax in. With students being gone, the community is wide-open for exploring. I get the chance to discover my community without commotion, stress and crowds in my way. I have the opportunity to discover and try new things without anything or anyone standing in my way.
While also discovering the community here at Kent, I get the chance to attend Kent’s famous summer festivals. Potterfest, Bluefest, and numerous art festivals are what I’m looking forward to this summer. Potterfest is a festival dedicated to the Harry Potter series and its fans. Downtown Kent takes part in this by having sales at stores, specials at restaurants, and fun for the Potter fans; they have a Harry Potter costume contest. Bluefest is a festival for the music fanatics here at Kent. This consists of the Blues being played by local musicians all over downtown Kent. Art festivals happen periodically throughout the summer and can be considered the art of music, dance, or local artwork.
A summer at my college and local community has too many pros to be considered boring or dull. Being able to explore and try new things is too good to say no to!