Oh, to be a student during summer “break”
(Photo: Sanja Ninkovic)
Blog | 29. Aug 2022
This is an ode to everyone who, like me, has not been frolicking on Santorini or the Amalfi coast all summer long. Summers, it turns out, can be two-faced.
I was supposed to relax this summer… I think. At some point, the idea of relaxing went down the drain. Before I knew it, I was taking meetings when I should have been outside swimming in the dreamiest places in Dalmatia.
Then, I was desperately leeching off my grandmother’s downstairs neighbour’s WIFI to apply for university courses, all while drenched in sweat from pure panic and the heat wave that hit Southern Europe.
I have never in my life been this busy during a summer “break”. From exams ending in late June, to my private life being in total chaos, and on top of that, I have to do home improvement projects (please don’t get me started), take more shifts at work to try to save up some money, make sure that all the documents for my exchange semester are in order, and lastly, try (emphasis on that word) to learn French, so that I can somewhat function in a foreign country for an entire semester.
My newfound idea of summer fun is calling official authorities, only for a robotic voice to tell me that I am number 58 in line
Sanja Ninkovic, student of Diversity and Change Management at CBS
I’m horrified, but also certain that I have forgotten to list something else. At this point, my coping mechanism is telling me that I’ll be able to relax once the summer is over and saying “that’s life”. I also found a new hobby: calling my bank to get my finances in check for exchange.
This has never been more incessant nor futile. My newfound idea of summer fun is calling official authorities, only for a robotic voice to tell me that I am number 58 in line.
My life is moving so fast now, but I only noticed it this summer. Sometimes, I think to myself that I will remember certain moments and feel nostalgic about them. Frankly, I’m already laughing about some of the scenarios of this summer (furiously applying for courses at my grandmother’s place is certainly one of them).
To all my fellow students out there who have had an everything-but-relaxing summer, I wish you luck, and please make sure you find some time to do fun things in between the hard and stressful tasks. With the low points, also come high points. I did travel, just like (apparently) everyone else in Europe, and I did get to relax for a few days.
I know that taking an entire day off can be way too much to ask of someone who is stressed beyond reason, but I encourage you to go and watch a movie at the cinema, have an ice cream on the beach, and if not that, at least take a walk before it gets so cold in Copenhagen that you are worried you’ll get hypothermia from the merciless icy wind.
Essentially, even though it feels like everything is just piling up on the mental mountain of “Yet another thing I have to solve”, it’s imperative to appreciate the small, but blissful moments. When the overall scheme of your life currently feels nonideal, remember that the immense stress is temporary.
Summers, it turns out, can be two-faced
Sanja Ninkovic, student of Diversity and Change Management at CBS
I’m elated about the fall semester starting, not only because I will, ironically and comparatively, be less busy, but also because I know that it will be a fascinating, rewarding, and less hypothermic semester abroad.
What is studying without the stress?
It permeates, creates of ordinary life a mess
To persevere takes great willingness
In the end, it pays off nonetheless
It goes by fast, but slows down time
Yes, I am stressed, but I made it rhyme
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