As a person gets older, it feels as if their summers become shorter. Before they know it, the dogwood tree fades from white to red and their closet changes from tee shirts to sweaters. Many tend to look at this transformation as glum and dreary, but I simply adore it.
As with most college students, Facebook has become a staple of socialization for me. Since it was created, the site has gained hundreds of millions of users. However, over the past few months it seems that Facebook has been trying to increase revenue with more advertisements on the main news feed page. Originally, they used to just appear on the side bar of the site, but now the format has completely changed. Advertising is the main way for online sites and companies to gain most of their income if they are not a business with a tangible product.
Graduation brings goodbyes. Farewell to professors, dorm rooms, classes, and an invincible attitude. It also brings about a change in friendships. The classmates of four years, the roommates you lived with, and the friends you went out with are no longer right across the hallway from you. I have a different kind of story with something I consider to be one of my best friends. With it, I have not only made unforgettable memories but also hilarious life lessons that I am thrilled to share. These are the adventures of me and my beach kruizer.
Four years ago, I was graduating from high school, bringing 13 years of education to a monumental close. I headed to MU the following fall to begin my education as an undergrad. I remember feeling like anything was possible. I would graduate from MU, get a great job, make good money, eventually go to graduate school, and that would be that. Don’t get me wrong, I still expect those things to happen, but who says they have to happen the day after graduation?
In October, our state suffered one of the worst storms that it had seen in a century. After Sandy had hit, it looked like it would be a while until we recovered. I remember seeing houses gone, debris everywhere, and people looking so lost, as they had no idea what to do next.
There is a light at the end of the semester; it is called summer. Now is the time when students are itching to get out of class and get to the beach. Despite craving to make it out of the semester alive, we have to buckle down and finish the semester strong.
My boss’s nephew is getting married in September. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the happy couple, and they are a perfect match for one another. You know the type; they finish each other’s’ sentences, have the same ideals, morals, and interests, and know what the other needs before they do. But they avoid telling people the “real” story of how they met, changing it each time, from saying they met at a coffee shop to while rock climbing (by the way, neither of them rock climbs).
It is so close to graduation. As a senior, you look back at your years here and say, “Did I leave a legacy here? Did I make an impact on this community in West Long Branch, NJ?”
It’s July of 2010. Alex had a bit too much to drink the night before and fell asleep next to the pool at his friend’s house without sunscreen on. He would later wake up with third degree sunburn from head to toe. He would be so dehydrated that he would require four IV’s of fluids at the hospital four days later and his knees would lock in a 90 degree angle as his muscles seize.
Final exams begin in three weeks. Summer break begins in four weeks. Graduation is in five weeks. With the semester’s close in sight, the anticipation of time off from school work, a new job and beach season slowly start to take precedence in students’ minds.