Living in a Post-Stadium 110 World

Today is Labor Day.The unofficial and symbolic end of summer for many Americans, Labor Day also marks the beginning of the American football season. Add this holiday to the list of American holiday's that are not usually celebrated in the way they were originally intended. I'm not saying that it is necessarily a bad thing that we don't celebrate the industry and labor sector of our nation for which this national holiday was created for, especially since it was largely a political move in a time of labor unrest/strikes, the red scare, and scary economic times.

And although several schools of all levels have already started, forcing students to end their summers earlier and earlier each year, and the fact that Carleton doesn't start until Sept. 14th, I thought I would take time today to reflect on the past 3 months and to look forward to what lies ahead after summers end: the coming school year.

First, Summer 2k9:
I friggin love summer. When done correctly, a summer can be the best 11ish weeks of the year. Its sad that many grown ups do not have the vacation time that allows freedom to live as they want to, exploring desires, hobbies, possibilities, and places that they do not have time to do when controlled by their jobs. I'm so much happier and relaxed in the summer. Don't get me wrong, I love the school year and being at Carleton. But there is something to be said about having more time, and being in a less stressful environment.

Summer Camp kept me busy, although it was definitely the hardest year, because of new challenges that took the form of new roles/expectations as well as difficulty with supervisors. But I also think that if you stay anywhere in the same manner for 4+ years, you get antsy.

Then camp ended. And the past few weeks were relaxing, but also somewhat difficult. Living with either of my parents is much harder than anticipated, even for this short amount of time. But the weather has been just beautiful and Chicago and Oak Park from the hours of 5:00pm and 9:00pm is just beautiful.

Summer was great. But it is now truly gone. Oh, how I'll miss it. I'd write a eulogy, but I'll know it'll be back.

Now, Junior Year:
In a week, I'll officially start my Junior year at Carleton. As noted above, I will come to a Carleton where Stadium 110 does not exist. Because of this, I will try to live life in a manner that would make Stadium proud - abundant BBQs, Daily Show watching, debauchery in the form of stuffed onesies, all day drinking (to the fullest extent possible), looking classy, etc. [on a related note, I almost bought the StirCrazy that Toto owns... I still may the next time I go to Target]

So, what is Junior Year gonna look like?

• 12 potential freshman on the Swim Team
• A good amount of time in Northfield for Winter Training
• PUERTO RICO for our Training Trip
• BK in Hill
• Alfreddy on 2nd Burton with everyone else in the world who matters
• Me living in Dow in the same room that Paddy Foran and Ted Mullin lived
  
• My new job as one of the Head Lifeguards, meaning a lot of time at West and with Brooke/Andy
• More history courses
• Deciding whether to go through with the Teaching Licensure Program at Carleton
• Taking Piano lessons in the winter
  
• Figuring out about next summer...
• I'm a student rep to the Alumni Council - it may be a resume builder, but it actually might be cool too, we'll have to wait and see.
• Turning 21
  
• Hopefully reading more, eating healthier and flossing

It's going to be interesting year. To be honest, WHO KNOWS WHATS IN STORE? We'll just have to wait and see. Last year, I had no idea what to expect out of Stadium (in fact, I was a little nervous) and look how that turned out.

So Goodbye Summer - see you in 9 months - and Hello Junior Year - how the hell are ya?