Picture this. You’re enjoying your Thursday, just having finished classes for the week. You’re looking forward to eating a nice dinner and then doing nothing. You’re relaxed. You walk into the dining hall and find yourself face-to-face with an acquaintance you haven’t seen since the first semester of your first year. The conversation goes like this:
PERSON: “Hi, how are you?”
YOU: “Good, how are you?”
PERSON: “Good! WHAT ARE YOUR SUMMER PLANS?”
Ah, yes. The dreaded summer question. More commonplace now in small-talk scenarios than asking about the weather and far more deleterious to one’s overall state of wellness. It plagues first dates, awkward professor office hours appointments, and unfortunate run-ins with people you don’t want to see. It’s 30 degrees, second semester is about two weeks old, the sun sets at five PM, the trees are dead, and I slipped on ice the other day walking down Prospect Street. However, according to the overzealous population that is Yale, summer is basically tomorrow. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re EXTREMELY, UNFORGIVABLY BEHIND.
If you find yourself in this position (like many non-finance, non-CS majors), I have compiled a list of 15 excellent responses to the dreaded summer question.
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I have a few options open at the moment, we’ll see!
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I’m still applying to things.
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Not sure yet. What are YOUR summer plans?
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Oh, I’ll be writing the newest hit teen dystopian novel trilogy that will be made into a mediocre movie series.
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Sleeping.
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Becoming a YouTube star and landing myself on the cover of Cosmopolitan.
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Composing an eighteen part sonata with my eyes closed.
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Working on a golf course and experiencing multiple existential crises while singing and dancing with my high school friends.
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Starring in a new HGTV show where I make over garden sheds.
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Perfecting my trampoline skills.
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Practicing magic in the UK.
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Eating Hot Cheetos for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for three months straight.
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Moving to a Greek island and managing an inn.
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Crafting an epic poem to beat all other epic poems.
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Nothing.
In all seriousness, remember that everybody has their own timeline. The year is still young and success doesn’t look like just one thing. If you don’t have your summer thing lined up yet, relax! Keep applying. You WILL be fine.