The reputation of a proud Badger usually sits on the foundation of academic excellence, immense campus involvement, and holding a strong resume that shows how “future ready” we, as individuals, are. Each week of the semester seems more fast-paced than the last, and the bones grow more and more tired by the minute. But the best part of it all? We crave the fast-paced, busy life we bring upon ourselves.
A Madison summer is a different story. That’s when a Badger gets to let loose. They’ll work their tails off to earn their fun nights by the water or out on the town, jump ahead on their degree plan through online learning, or simply slow down time to go back home and feel that warm, nostalgic embrace of home again. There’s never a wrong answer for a college summer, and that’s something I decided to embrace as much as possible.
I got to go back to the Twin Cities to spend the summer with my family traveling, watch my cousin walk the Princeton graduation stage as a computer engineer, and took on a 12-credit business class load for the summer term. Ambitious, I know. It doesn’t help that it stems from my need to balance my 2 majors (soon 3) and certificate within an appropriate amount of time as an undergrad. But as busy as the accelerated course load kept me, it gave me the most beautiful opportunity to rediscover the city I’ve grown to love so deeply.
Each day I made a vow to myself that I HAD to leave the house and do my coursework elsewhere. I’m a habitual “stay-in-my-room-to-study-and-bed-rot” type of learner, personally. Especially in the heat of midterms? It’s hard to find the will to go outside and study, especially when it’s warmer from my bed. But with this new schedule and the independence it gives me, I couldn’t miss taking advantage of the beautiful weather and easy access to a car, so every week, I chose a new place to relearn and reclaim as my “hidden gem”, no matter how “hidden” it actually was.
As I’m well on my way through my junior year, the biggest thing I got to learn about myself was how good I could be at focusing and studying once I started changing things up. Going to a new spot every week and changing my study locations daily between newfound ones brought the excitement of learning back to my life that I never realized I had lost until now. With the fast-paced, exam-heavy nature of the “core class” schedule for an underclassman, it was hard to remember the passion I first had coming to UW for learning and my specific majors. Now, with the beginning of another rigorous, packed-schedule semester ahead of me, relearning this love has motivated me to embrace the academic intensity in this way.
Everyone has a different version of what it means to “reset” during the summer. For some, it’s filling a savings account higher before the school year starts back up again. For others, it’s making sure the finishing touches on the post-grad resume and applications get done and added. For me, it was as small as rediscovering what being a continuous learner meant and remembering the passion I first walked onto campus with in the fall of 2024.