As we face the onslaught of around the clock traffic, mile-long grocery lines, and deserted shelves at Target, this must mean one thing—fall semester has returned. Once again we will scoot into our awkwardly tiny desks and face the music, or more realistically, face the (odorous) consequences of extreme heat and what feels like no AC in the university buildings.
However, I’m not here to preach about acceptable hygiene practices. Instead, I’d like to turn your attention to the small-talk-catch-up-hall-convo that happens when you see a familiar face pass by on your way to lecture. A quick moment of recognition followed by a bright smile and approach, all preceding the ultimate question: “How was your summer?”
Normally, I’m prepared with my regular spiel; something along the lines of seeing friends, mountain trips and countless hikes, and most importantly, relaxing. But what am I supposed to say when I’ve done virtually none of that? At first, all I managed was a deflecting “nothing special,” followed by a redirection to the enquirer. This, however, didn’t accurately express what I’m calling my “Anti-Summer Summer,” or essentially, the most polar opposite experience of summer I’ve ever had.
First, I’ll set up some characteristics that have long defined summer: heat, traveling, parties, no class, tanning, lemonade…You get the idea. So, what comes with an Anti-Summer? Coldness, dark, isolation, studying, and coffee. Yes, that last one might be describing my cafe order, but otherwise these words hold the key to having the perfect Anti-Summer.
Cold: a new escapade into learning how to ice-skate. Dark: my full time employment in a research lab on campus, two floors below ground-level. Isolation: coming home to an apartment of roommates’ ghosts and their leftover pasta sauce. Studying: for Biochemistry of course! Coffee: something not particularly specific to any type of summer, I just love it.
However, this is not to say I didn’t thoroughly appreciate my summer, and I hope my slightly joking tone is still coming across. Truthfully this is one of the best summers I’ve had. Behind each “negative” word I’ve listed above lies a meaningful experience, some of which I wouldn’t have been able to pursue without saying goodbye to a stereotypical summer.
As I continue to ice skate, I’m beginning to learn how to navigate being uncomfortable, an easy feeling to have on two shaky skates gliding at high speeds. In the coming semester I might feel the same way as I come across untraversed content (physics in particular), but if I can manage to stay upright on my skates, I know I can also stay on top of my work.
Without spending most of my time in Muenzinger’s cold and dimly lit basement, I wouldn’t have found out that I can successfully complete a month-long experiment and present it to a lab full of postdocs and graduate students on my own. If I were to tell my freshman year self how much my confidence has grown, and the tribulations I had to go through to achieve that, I’m sure she either wouldn’t believe it, or she would start driving home.
While being away from those most important to me was difficult to endure, especially after arduous week after week, I came to appreciate the uninterrupted time I got with myself to reflect and prepare for moving forward. Additionally, this period served as a transition for me to shed my underclassman status in exchange for something with a bit more heft—being an upperclassman. As a result, instead of loftily dreaming about my future, I am confronted by the tools I have at my disposal to actualize my goals, and I’m finally expected to use them. Despite the fact that most of the tools I find myself holding are cold, uncomfortable, and heavy, my Anti-Summer Summer has prepared me for these exact challenges, and someday, I’ll look back on that time not with apprehension, but appreciation.