Forays into L.A.C. (or more commonly known as Life After College)

The summer internship. The bane of a college student's existence. There seems to be a Catch-22 that no sound-minded college student can avoid, especially if they have parents as persuasive as mine. Every person currently engaged in higher education must persue the increasingly elusive Summer Internship at some point in their 4 years of college; that is, if they want to graduate with a respectable job and a good starting salary and not have to move home and submit themselves to the mercy of Mommy and Daddy. But at what cost do these interships occur? Of course, at the cost of summer fun: having an internship requires waking up and commuting into an office where said student will spend the most crucial hours of the day staring into the glaring screen of a computer monitor day in and day out until school resumes. Weekends and evenings are the only free time the student is given any more, almost as if they have reverted back to the days of high school. Sleeping late is no longer an option, nor is the wardrobe of sweatpants and old t-shirts. No, no. The summer intern's closet consists of "Professional Wear" for the business-savvy man or woman.

This has been my summer, just as it was last summer, in fact. I've started calling the 4 months of the year where I pretend to be an adult my "Forays into Life After College." If all I have to look forward to after graduation is a 9-5 plus commute and only weekends free, then I want out.

I don't know if it's sad, unnerving, or both that my 14 year old sister had to point out to me last night that I have more free time during the school year than I do during the summers now. As much as I love what summer represents, or at least used to, for someone of my generation, I find myself yearning to get back to massachusetts and everyone at Clark as soon as possible. With only limited time to lounge on the beach these days, I have never had more disdain for adulthood than the summer internship instills.

I'm tired and bored by the time I sit down at my desk every morning, especially when I know that I have no work waiting for me, and know that none will come. And so I while away the long, long hours simultaneously Facebook stalking and reading the New York Times Online while my officemates remain silent and the only noise to be heard for hours is the clack-clacking of fingers hitting keyboards.

This daily drudgery has made me dread the summer and makes me pray on a weekly basis that when I do have to grow up and become an "adult" (does anybody ever actually want to take on the responsibilities that come with a college degree? For that matter, does anybody ever have anything to look forward to after turning 21?) that I get a job where office-appropriate clothing is not required and spending time outdoors, with people is a must.

But for now, I'll have to be grateful that these forays only last the summer and appreciate the fact that I still have 2 years to do what I want. Next summer I'm saying "Screw the internship, all hail long days on a beach."