My name is Sean and I just finished high school. I'll be off to the University of Mary Washington in the fall but until then I plan to make the most out of the next couple of months, starting with this cool little internship. That being said, don't get too attatched; I'll only be here until June 10th. Until then, read and enjoy. By the way I live and breathe movies; I reviewed them for my school paper and I own 100+ DVDs. This means I might be throwing some obscure references around here and there, so consider yourself warned.

Any Wilco fans out there? Those of you who are have probably heard the song “Hate it Here” from their sixth album Sky Blue Sky. For those of you ignoramuses who haven’t, it’s basically about a guy who just had a woman (with whom he was apparently very involved) walk out on him. To keep himself from going completely insane, he tries to constantly occupy his time with menial household work like laundry and lawn mowing even though he’s fairly certain his significant other is never coming home.

While Jeff Tweedy’s lyrics suggest borderline psychotic behavior, this song is touching on something that the young and college-bound should keep in mind. We’re not too far from August, which is when most colleges start classes, and it’s pretty intimidating to have such a huge change in your life right around the corner (trust me, how do you think I feel?). You could spend the next couple of months worrying about having nightmarish roommates or the fear of moving away for such a long period of time, or you could do what I’ve been doing: keeping myself busy.

I know this strategy doesn’t sound too attractive, but just keep in mind you don’t have to constantly do yard work like the poor schmuck in the song. You should try to use what time you have this summer soaking up some sun and hitting the beach (before it’s completely drenched in oil). Try and get some of your buddies together to chip in on a beach house for a week or so; remember, it’s a recession, so owners may be less apprehensive toward letting a bunch of 18-year-olds stay in a house as long as they can pay. This may not sound like being “busy”, but with all the time it will take to organize it and the good times you’ll have, you’ll be surprised how much time has gone by when it’s all over. What will be more surprising is that almost none of that time will have been spent worrying about college.

While something like that is good to do for a week or so, don’t let yourself get too distracted from the real world. As I made clear in my last blog post, finding a job before you head off for school should be a top priority. Working this summer is probably the most beneficial distraction from college worries you can hope for. Not only are you too busy to think about any of that stuff, you’ll be saving money to boot!

Another activity that couldn’t hurt might be finding a hobby; maybe starting a collection. I know I was just talking about saving money, not spending it, but it doesn’t have to be anything expensive. For example, I just got a working sound system for a fairly new turntable I was given some time ago. Now that I can actually hear what I put under the needle, I’ve started building a record collection. Most of it consists of my Dad’s stuff, but I’ve also been going around vinyl stores in DC and Arlington. You’d be surprised what kinds of albums you can get for 8, 5, or even 3 dollars at some of these places (Waiting for the Sun by The Doors, for example; in great condition and it was only five bucks).

Even though college may seem like it’s right around the corner, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the most of the time you’ve got. Just remember there are different ways of keeping “busy”; the important thing to remember is that as long as you’re not sitting alone in your room freaking out, you’re on the right track.