This is the time of year where stress on college campuses is at its peak. In addition to the normal pressure from classes and studying for finals, there is added pressure from hearing about your peers’ summer plans. Students should be happy to hear about a friend’s plans to stay in St. Louis or travel to a major city to work a fantastic internship. Instead, it’s stressful for those who don’t have an opportunity lined up for their summer.

We understand that it may feel like a lack of opportunities today will snowball into a lack of opportunities down the road. If I don’t have an internship today, how will I apply for more prestigious internships down the road? And if I don’t have that prestigious internship, how will I land a good job out of college? And without a good job out of the gate, how will I secure my dream job down the road?

Relax.

Opportunities will come with time. You may not secure the perfect summer internship. You may not have the perfect first job, but it’s only a first job. There will be other opportunities. There is way too much pressure on students to optimize their summers for future success. It’s okay to take time in the summer to work a part-time job for a bit of pocket money. It’s perfectly acceptable to go back home for a couple of months and spend time with friends and family. This is one of the last periods of most of our lives where having a less intense summer will be an option. Students shouldn’t be ashamed for choosing that option. Rarely is one’s career path without obstacles; you shouldn’t beat yourself up over running into one.

Students also shouldn’t feel bad about not being able to take an internship for socio-economic reasons. It’s an absurd reality that we force students to compete to work for free and then make them finance themselves through that summer experience. It’s unfair that students are effectively forced to pay for internships that they’re convinced are essential.

We’re fortunate to go to a school that can give out stipends for unpaid internships, but those stipends don’t provide the entire solution for students right now. Going forward, we hope that Chancellor-elect Martin will focus more resources on programs that make summer opportunities more accessible. In the meantime, students should recognize that not being able take advantage of an opportunity for financial reasons is not a reflection upon them, and they shouldn’t be ashamed.

Students are at a momentous point in their lives where every decision can feel very impactful. It’s easy to be overwhelmed when thinking about bringing one’s plan for the future to fruition. We urge students to take a step back and see that their summer decisions aren’t as central to the big picture as they may think.