Out of context

Summer

As I made my way out of the building, hot dry air surrounded me, and I wished desperately I'd have the chance to wear sandals instead of closed shoes. The sun was glaring down, a huge fiery ball of light and heat, burning everything its rays touched. Squinting at the sudden brightness, I tried to make out shapes and forms, but my eyes were adamant to adjust as slowly as possible. White spots covered my vision and I shuddered, suddenly aware of my flat again, in which the temperature rose as much as it did outside. I hadn't experienced such things before, as the house of my parents was an old one indeed, and its walls were cool even in the midst of summer. Come to think of it, I would be going home soon. I shouldered my bag and made my way out of the half shadows of the building and into the light.

My thoughts were spinning, away from the weather and towards more serious things in my life. There were a couple of more tests I'd have to take, but that wasn't bad. It was nasty as there was only very little time to learn sheer endless and enormous information, but we had come to learn pretty fast that we could not learn anything beside the obligatory, and even just learning those lists we were barely able to take up all the information. But I had come to terms with it by now, accepted the inevitable fate that you could, indeed, not always know everything, no matter how interesting a subject was. I had also gotten the half burned out attitude of whatever-happens-it-is-equal-whether-I-get-through-this-or-not-but-I-will-survive. This helped a lot. Especially in the oral exams, as I wasn't as scared and irritated anymore, but strangely calm whenever I was being tested. 

Sighing I looked up at the sky, wondering if I had some time to go to the park and enjoy the weather, although it's been getting a little too hot for my taste. Maybe I would find some time in the evening. My own mind snorted at that thought, of course, there wouldn't be time. There never was anymore. But sometimes you just had to take it for yourself.

As soon as I arrived at my flat, I had lunch and went onto my nowadays usual sitting position on my sofa, a script in my hand while desperately trying to fill my head with information and drinking tea while doing that. Lots of tea. 

Only a few more left. I knew I'd survive.

A week after the break had started, it was the midst of one of the hottest summers I had ever encountered, I looked forward to leaving college behind for a time and return home to my parents. I did not look forward to my internship so much, but everything comes with a price. And while I - miraculously- didn't need to write essays during my "breaks" I had internships. 

Those internships were good for a couple of things. It gave you a small insight of how the places you'd be working in later worked, and even more importantly it was trained your social skills. I barely had have time during the semester to read a book, let alone go out and actually talk to somebody. It had become a rare occasion, and I guessed it was the same for everybody else. 

My future work would, however, consist of talking to people and being highly sociable. For that, the internship proved to be kind of a case study. 

You'd get to work and meet new people every day, and some accompanied you during your weeks for some days. In my first internship, I had learned a very important skill quite soon- small talk. I'm afraid I might have forgotten all about it now, but I knew that I had learned it. Apart from these soft skills, you also learned about yourself. You grew more accustomed to your own borders and gained a little self-consciousness. Which would probably be crushed as soon as you returned to University, but for now, you had gained it.

After all, wasn't that a good thing? You were alive, and not sick, and that was all that counted, really. It was tiring, but in another way than University. 

But I looked forward to it, more because every day I was closer to its end, but looking forward at times nevertheless. Sometimes you were allowed to see interesting things, sometimes you were not. But that was okay. I was there to do my duty and not because I was to be entertained.

Needless to say, I was not really unhappy when I had reached the end of the month. 

It was time, then, to return to college and prepare for my next exam- I'd flung through one and needed to write it again. And I did. Although I wouldn't have said no if anybody were to ask me for some time to relax. So I went and studied, and made my way through the exam, and when I finally wrote it- I had four real days to relax, from which most of the time got lost between regaining my lost sleep and preparing for college to start again. It was a happy form of being tired, though.

College is hard, but it's that way for everyone. The nice thing is, you chose the subject for yourself. Which means you actually get to learn things that you think are interesting. I sure loved mine, and the strain was a part of it. Naturally, every subject is interesting and fun until you have to pass exams and tests. So don't think for a second that any other faculty might be any easier, really. You will always find something that turns out to be difficult for you to accomplish. What's important is that you stand up and see for yourself whether you want to take the blows and fight, or if it's not worth it to you. 

Just don't overdo it. That never ends well. 

Taking a deep breath, I marched into my new semester, ready to see which subject my new nemesis would be.