It’s finally the end of a long semester and it’s almost time to let out a long sigh of relief.

You did it! You got through! Hopefully you’ve passed all your classes [that’s all that matters, right?] and you can walk away from campus with the notion that you’ve done your best.

It’s summer time and it’s time to let go and enjoy life. Granted, you should be doing that every day, but summer is just the perfect time for laying back, cracking your knuckles and enjoying the sunshine. You’ve worked hard all winter long. Go enjoy the warm weather.

Unfortunately, it is also the season of regret and worry.

Looking back on the semester, you may have not done as well as you could on that last exam. Or the paper you submitted may not have been your best work. You and the instructor didn’t see eye-to-eye and he gave you a grade you don’t think you deserved.

And the next semester, the next gauntlet of anxiety and stress, is only four months away or so. How horrible are you going to do next semester? What insane teachers are you going to have? What ridiculous work are they going to make you do?

Stuff it. This is not time for those thoughts.

What’s the use in looking back? You’re done. The past is past and there’s nothing that can be done about it. Just know that regardless of what you’ve done, it was to your utmost ability because it was what you ultimately did. Good or bad. Live and learn and move on.

And what’s the use of looking forward? Four months is a huge swath of time. If you’re truly worried about what may happen in the future, why waste time in the present thinking about it? That’ll only bring it around faster.

Cross that bridge when you come to it. When the next semester begins, tackle it head on and succeed.

But right now? Now is that time to put your hands behind your head and enjoy the summer breeze. Well, when they eventually come. I’m 98% sure the winter is finally over.

Would you like to know what I’m doing this summer? Well, eventually, I’m going to find myself on a beach back east, along the ocean and I’m going to sit in sand with a beer in my hand. And while I watch the waves cascade along the coast, I’m going to take out some of the readings I skipped in my classes and I’m going to read them.

And then I’m going to go swimming while muttering Latin declensions and conjugations and point out interesting geologic formations to anybody who happens to be looking in the same direction.

And I’m going to revel in the fact that the last bunch of semesters were not wasted on me. I walked away with knowledge and I have grown as a cognitive person. And I have another chance of learning more coming up. And that excites me.

But this is break time and more than anything, I’m going to take a break. I’ll see you around. If you run into me and say hi, I’ll buy you a beer.

Happy Summer!

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