Living it up in Baltimore and beyond

Guest Column

By: Emily Daly

Posted: 4/30/09

Finals are nigh, my friends, and let's face it: We are getting desperate. Spring Fair is over. Students across campus are locking themselves in their rooms, or worse yet, D level.

Everything else is on hold. Laundry? Pants don't need to be washed until someone can smell you before they see you. Grocery shopping? Ten pounds of Ramen should do the trick. And when you don't have time to cook them, you can even eat them dry, like chips. Sort of gross, but this is finals. Finals require a total war effort (oh, that phrase would work well on your history exam . . .).

Sadly, for most of us this means we haven't had the time to figure out what on earth we're doing during the summer after finals (if such a life exists). Do we go home or do we stay in Baltimore?

Luckily for you, I've procrastinated just long enough to come up with a few criteria you should consider before ritualistically burning your textbooks and whipping out last year's bikini. So snuggle up with your Ramen and smelly jeans, and do a little soul searching!

Living with the family

Chances are I haven't met your family, so deciding whether or not living with them is a good idea is pretty much up to you. It may be that nothing beats spending time with parents, siblings and Fluffy and eating someone else's cooking for a change. This summer could be the time to catch up with all your friends, cruise around your old haunts and feel young and carefree again.

On the other hand, life with the parents lacks certain perks that staying in Baltimore does. Beer before noon is probably out. Questions about those grad school applications are probably in. Sibling rivalry can get pretty nasty when you get your spring semester grades. You may want to ask friends, both from here and from home, to see what they're doing. By the time you find out that everyone you know is in Costa Rica and Fluffy has left a hairball in your shoe, you may wish you had checked this out beforehand.

Fun things to do around Baltimore

As much as we complain about it, Baltimore actually has some really great things going on in the summertime. Summer means tourist season, which means the Inner Harbor and other hot spots whip out the best deals and seafood. A free summer schedule gives you time to check out those highlights you're always meaning to get to, like the Everyman Theatre, American Visionary Art Museum and, of course, our beloved National Aquarium (might I suggest the shark exhibit). Baltimore is also a great starting point for some serious day trips to D.C. and Ellicott City.

This argument on behalf of Baltimore falls through just a tad for those who already come from amazingly cool places. Students coming from L.A. and NYC may be somewhat unimpressed with the wonders of the Baltimore skyline. For those of us who hail from the suburbs, though, that Domino's sign on the horizon may be your best bet for a true summer adventure.

Jobs and internships

Maybe the most important and certainly the most practical concern about the summer is finding a job or internship, or both. Considering the economic climate, your choice about where you want to spend your summer may be limited by location. Before making a decision, make sure that you'll have something to do. Three months of sitting on the couch watching reruns of The Office may sound amazing now, but trust me, by July, Dwight is only going to frighten you. Plus, you'll be out of cash. The Career Center is a great resource for people looking for jobs and internships.

Consider these three things, and your chances of having a great summer will increase by 67 percent. Once you're done, get back to work. You really can't afford this many study breaks.