Remember when summer was something you actually looked forward
to? When each night seemed full of endless possibilities for fun,
and romance (or whatever passes for it in adolescence) was in the
air? To the people who have just written me off as a massive loser
for my inability to let go of my glorious teenage wasteland:
Consider your own current summer “vacation,” and tell me things
weren’t a little more carefree and exciting way back when.

Don’t get me wrong–I’ve embraced the college lifestyle to the
fullest extent that my heart, mind and liver will allow. In my two
years at Saint Louis University, I’ve met some amazing people and
made friendships that will last a lifetime. But where are you
people in the summer? That’s right, you’re spread out across the
country, and plane tickets are expensive. Surely I can’t be the
only one spending ungodly amounts of time checking people’s away
messages on instant messenger just to catch up on what they’re up
to.

Then there’s perhaps the 20 hours a week at minimum wage. The
job site is an hour’s drive away from my home. The Ohio Turnpike
robs me of $1.50 coming and going from work. Parking is $2.00
daily. My prized Chevy S-10 runs through gas like Star Jones at an
all-you-can-eat Mexican restaurant. I am broke.

Oh for the days spent landscaping in the company of convicted
felons for what now seems a king’s ransom of $7.75 an hour. These
days, I find myself too exhausted after work to do much of
anything. Chasing the girls of summer once left me sleepless with
anticipation–this summer I’ve slept through three dates and
refused to call several others simply because I didn’t feel like
driving another 45 minutes that day. The afternoon nap was
something of a ritual for me at school, allowing me to stay awake
until the wee hours of the morning every night. Unfortunately, my
taskmaster father frowns upon them and gleefully wakes me should I
be caught dozing on the couch.

At first I thought it was just me, but I slowly realized this
lackadaisical outlook had spread to many of my friends as well. My
supposed “best friend” blew me off one Friday night because he just
had to win the Masters Tournament on his copy of Tiger Woods’ Golf
for his Playstation. One male friend, who will remain anonymous
after begging not to be exposed in print, became so engaged in a
Lifetime Movie of the Week that he could not bear to leave his
house until witnessing the riveting conclusion to the latest
struggle of one woman against “the system.” When did my friends
become such dorks?

If anything, I suppose my extended malaise is a sort of salute
to the joys of SLU life. Where else but college are all your
friends either down the hall or just a few buildings away?

It’s nice to be free of textbooks and research papers for
awhile, but it doesn’t take too long for one to realize that
parents, work and other commitments waiting at home offer their own
trappings of responsibility.

While freshmen have always been scapegoats for mischief on
university campuses, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if I’m
not the only upperclassmen getting a little rowdy on move-in
weekend after surviving another uneventful summer.

Jon Butler is a junior studying communication.