Summer holidays are a fantastic time of the year. They mean having a lie-in every day, going on exotic trips, and never needing to worry about exams and papers. Once the holidays come around, life is a walk in the park. Most unfortunately, actually making it to this point is easier said than done.
Why, you might ask? With the arrival of summer season comes what I like to call ‘summer slump’. Symptoms of the slump include: a lack of motivation to study, a perpetual longing to sit outside and soak up the sun, and, a lack of motivation to study (did I mention this already?).
The slump made its annual presence in my life a few weeks ago, when the weather decided to bless the British Isles with an unusual amount of sunshine. I recall my intense excitement of finally being able to toss my jeans back into the closet and pull on a pair of shorts. Every day that week consisted of a similar routine: wake up, begrudgingly attend lecture/seminar, and most importantly, spend about six hours sitting outside on the James College quad whilst playing cards, reading magazines, and sipping on a cool drink.
And while I did attempt to crack open the textbooks, this quickly proved unfruitful; it is quite the challenge to sit quietly at one’s desk in the knowledge that everyone else is outside working on their tan!
Of course, it being England, the sunshine didn’t last very long.
But though the glorious weather may have disappeared, its effects have deeply taken root in many of us. It is not uncommon for me to walk out of my room and hear someone complaining about how unmotivated he or she is to work. When this happens, the usual course of action is for us to take a walk to Hes Hall and laugh at the geese charging at one another with outstretched necks. The problem is, we all have loads of work to do and exams looming around the corner, but knowing that there are only a few weeks left in the university year we just can’t seem to get ourselves to do it.
So how to put an end to this slump? I’m not quite sure if there’s a solution. In fact, I’m not quite sure I want there to be a solution. While those of us suffering from the slump might be cursing ourselves come assessment time, I doubt any of us would deny we’ve been enjoying ourselves. Like I say every summer, we can figure it out in the Fall.