Not So Lazy Days of Summer

Posted July 25, 2018 by Sarah Callanan

It is currently Week 6 of my online summer class.  Now in a usual semester, which is 14 weeks long, we would just be approaching the halfway point.  But, as this is a summer class that is only 8 weeks long, I only have 2 weeks remaining, and it is crunch time.  We have accomplished a lot in a very short amount of time in this class.  I’ve learned so much!  However, there is still a lot of work to be done and topics to be covered in the remaining weeks.  I have a group project to finish, numerous readings to complete, several assignments and exercises to do, and lots of discussion forums to participate in. 

One of the key takeaways from this experience is that summer classes require you to be at the very top of your game.  As it is the full amount of work for a semester class in half the time, there can be no slacking off whatsoever.  You have to manage your time very wisely.  Balancing school, work, and your personal life is difficult enough in a normal semester, but with a summer class it is a bit trickier due to the shortened time frame.   The accelerated schedule for my summer class does add some stress and anxiety to my life and I’m not going to lie, there have been some late nights.  This class has been a challenge for me, but I truly enjoy learning the new concepts, participating in discussions with my classmates, and seeing the knowledge applied in the real world.   Throughout the final push of this class, even though I am a bit worn out, I have really enjoyed is putting the new skills I’ve learned in this class to use.  In the classes I’ve taken at Simmons, everything I’ve learned has been useful and has helped me immensely in my career. 

These remaining weeks are going to be a lot of hard work, but a most rewarding hard work.  This program has allowed me to learn so many new things and develop a lot of new skills and I’m very grateful for it.  Wish me luck for the final push of the summer session!