Summer break in college is always the best time to replenish your struggling bank account, catch up with family and friends from back home and most importantly, catch up on rest and relaxation. This past summer, I decided to stay in Morgantown and work full-time. My days would include waking up in time for my shift, working a four-to-five-hour-long shift, coming home to my lonely, two-bedroom apartment and hoping one of my friends wasn’t at work or away from Morgantown. I do live alone in a moderately-sized apartment and coming home to an empty place was often pretty depressing. I occupied my time by bingeing Netflix shows or reading, but at the end of the day, going to bed at night, I was sad.
I only had about three good friends also spending the summer in Morgantown and they also had the plan to work their tails off to make money before school starts back up again. Four weeks had gone by and my birthday was coming up. I hadn’t seen my family or friends in months and going home for my birthday was just what I needed to try to start feeling like myself again.
The bad part was, it was the first week of June and I couldn’t get myself to pack my things and return to the lonely lifestyle I was living working this full-time job in an empty college town. I decided to stay home in the sake of my mental health, so I could indulge myself in the luxury of having my best friend, my boyfriend and my family all nearby while also working at the store near my home, but only part-time.
I did not end up making as much money as I had wanted to make in the summer, but in setting that goal to make money, I didn’t think of the repercussions I would face with my own mental health, living alone and not having all the plans in the world on a daily basis.
I did decide to come back to school early August to get some sort of jumpstart on full-time work before classes began, but I make some choices while coming back to help keep me motivated and making living alone less taxing. I brought my cat with me to school, so that she can always keep me company, I joined more clubs to keep myself involved and my head busy and I also have planned dates when I can go home and see my parents or have my boyfriend come visit.
Living alone with a full-time job in a dead college town was a challenge I wasn’t able to conquer this summer, but it helped me prepare for the lonely days and nights I have faced during the school year and now I have a full-schedule to keep me busy and my cat to keep me company.