Hot Summer Days with a Bed Rot Phase: “Unproductive” Summers At Stuyvesant

Freshman Natalie Wu’s crochet collection over the summer! 

When the school year rolls to a close, students are presented with an exciting prospect: two entire months free from school. Deciding how to spend this time, however, is a daunting decision for many teenagers. Despite engaging in stimulating and interesting activities and catching up on much-needed rest, many students are left feeling that they didn’t use their time in the best way by the end of the summer, rendering their break unproductive. 

Though most Stuyvesant students want one, the definition of a productive summer varies. For many, productivity means strengthening one’s college resume; this pressure can fill summer vacation with internships, summer jobs, volunteer work, and more. “I would say that I had a mostly productive summer. I gained 80 service hours from both tutoring programs I signed up for. [...] I also had three hours of in-person SAT prep every weekday for most of the summer,” junior Iris Tam described in an email interview. For him, a productive summer involved preparing for his academic future, both at Stuyvesant and in the college application process. “This often, but does not always, mean sacrificing short-term pleasure or satisfaction for long-term benefits: forcing myself to get out of bed and exercise, limiting my screen time, or reading a textbook when I’d rather be scrolling through social media,” Tam continued.

This concern with academics is prevalent among students—even those who have not begun Stuyvesant. Freshman Natalie Wu, for example, spent her summer preparing for Stuyvesant’s rigorous and unfamiliar academic environment. “Compared to other summers, I felt more stressed, knowing I’d be entering a new school and didn’t know my way around. Leaving middle school, a place of comfort and familiarity, to high school, the unknown, definitely made me anxious,” Wu stated in an email interview. “This summer, I hoped to make time for myself […] I had every day planned—whether I would be eating, reading, exercising, or doing my hobbies [such as crocheting and painting].” 

Focusing on academics is not the key to productivity for all students, of course. “To me, a productive summer means to use the time for as many things as possible not possible during the school year,” junior Lucas Long explained in an email interview. “It is an opportunity to do something unrelated to school for a long time, and I [wish that I had done] more things with it.”

Senior Gabriella Hoefner echoed a similar sentiment, remarking that the break should be filled with fun and rest. “If you enjoyed it, that's pretty important, because summer is supposed to be a vacation,” Hoefner said. “As long as you spent your time in a fulfilling manner and did things that you wanted to do, I'd say it's productive.” While she acknowledged that some summer programs—from volunteering to interning—can be beneficial, Hoefner believes that they should not replace relaxation and contentment. “I think it's equally important to, like, relax as well and be doing stuff that you actually enjoy, since during the school year, things can get really tiring and rigorous,” she explained. 

However, no matter how they spend their summer, many students often find themselves comparing their summers to that of their peers. These comparisons are typically encouraged by social media. Such comparisons—which are sometimes normalized in Stuyvesant’s competitive environment—can foster imposter syndrome, preventing students from recognizing their own accomplishments. Furthermore, students are often pushed to prioritize academics and college applications above all, as they are in constant competition in these fields—sometimes to the detriment of their mental health. 

Tam found himself in a similar situation. “I have multiple friends and know of classmates who spent their summer taking college-level courses for credit, which definitely plays into my insecurity about how I spent my summer. I also know of classmates who were hired or accepted for paid jobs and internships, which makes me feel like I didn’t do enough,” he admitted. Students like Tam can feel trapped by comparisons and their own expectations, which make it feel like nothing they do is enough. Thus, an endless cycle of work ensues. 

After all, some students even felt guilt for choosing to prioritize their joy over academics, including freshman Afifa Mostafa. “Seeing other people, I felt like I didn't deserve a fun summer,” Mostafa admitted. “My peers are doing so much and I'm sitting at home not doing anything.” Such guilt detracted from the enjoyment and initial jubilance she felt from her vacation. 

However, students acknowledge that everyone has their own needs, desires, and routines that work best for them. Experiences during the school year, as well as students’ personal lives, can dictate how they spend their summer. “I think the culture of Stuyvesant produces two possible scenarios for our summers: the obvious [one] being the busiest and packed summers preparing for college, or the most sluggish summers justified from the burnout from the school year,” junior Jasmine Liang claimed in an email interview. 

Therefore, many students acknowledge that placing too great a focus on improving one’s college resume can be counterproductive; taking on too much can be detrimental to one’s mental health. “I think it’s definitely bad to overwork yourself. If you don’t take breaks, you’ll eventually burn out and ultimately won’t be able to work as well,” Hoefner stated in a follow-up email interview.

Similarly, Wu noted that not all days have to look the same.  “It is okay to have unproductive days—days of complete fun or scrolling through social media—and that I shouldn’t feel guilty about them. Life isn’t all work; we need rest,” she said. 

Sophomore Stella Kubersky also emphasized the importance of partaking in summer activities separate from school for one’s mental health. “I go to camp every summer as an artistic outlet which is a super nice change of pace compared to Stuy,” Kubersky described in an email interview. “To me, summer is more productive the less I think about school because it just makes me dread the next year rather than enjoy my time.”

Ultimately, students should devote their summer vacation to activities that fulfill them. Though she felt the same pressure as most Stuyvesant students to be productive, Liang’s summer was focused on finding herself and connecting with others. “I spent a lot of time this summer thinking and observing time, life, and people,” she described. “This time has allowed me to observe what makes life worth living, what to search for and pursue, and observe the people around me and their experiences. I think the biggest realization I’ve made is how much I love meeting and talking to new people, as everyone is a mosaic of their loved ones and a reflection of their experiences, which in turn shapes their perspective and values,” Liang reflected.

Summer break provides relief from the stresses of school, but this can be overshadowed by Stuyvesant’s competitive environment. Many students see summertime as an opportunity to get ahead, creating the mindset that their break should be filled with extracurricular activities in order to be productive. Yet this does not work for all students: to find true productivity, students should pursue activities that provide them with fulfillment and content. Next summer, consider using your two month vacation to find a balance between academics and having fun—perhaps you will feel far more fulfilled and recharged for the school year.