Working Through Summer
This is my first summer working my full-time job, ever. Most summers as a teacher I travelled and visited friends & family. I worked at a summer camp later in my career when I was trying to pay off my student loans, and found that my burnout exponentially increased.
I never spent summers thinking about my classroom or preparing for the upcoming school year like some teachers. My summers were a time for emotional recharging. Recovering from the extreme exhaustion I felt every May.
So what’s it like working a corporate job all summer?
Not a big deal at all.
I’m not burned out enough to NEED a whole summer off. Being able to take time off whenever I want means I don’t feel desperate for a summer vacation.
My summer looks like a LOT of outdoors time, hiking, canoeing, renting a pontoon boat with friends.
It looks like a healthy work-life balance.
It looks like long weekend trips to Fort Myers, Cincinnati, and Nashville.
It looks like backyard barbecues and pub quizzes with friends on week nights.
It looks like a job that is both exciting and respectful of boundaries.
It looks like a week long working retreat from a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
It looks like Couch to 5k early in the mornings.
It looks like me saving up my vacation time for when I really need and want to use it.
My first summer in a corporate position has made it abundantly clear how much more I am in control of my life. I’m feeling the freedom and flexibility I desired all along.
