I know that this is not much compared with being a real intern at a major paper, where I’d be working as a virtual staff member. But to do so would have meant submitting an application as early as November for a job that begins in late June—and I have to admit that I do not seem to possess the capacity to look ahead that far into the future.

It was because of my respect—and slight envy—for those who do possess that capacity that I felt a little embarrassed of my own, less ambitious plans for June, July and August. I sometimes wished that I had taken the time in November to fill out that application, or over spring break to make that interview, so that I could join my friends in being able to say, “Yes, I have a job this summer.” And not just any job, but a real job, a 9-to-5, work-in-the-office, wow-won’t-this-look-impressive-on-my-resume job.

But now, comfortably settled down in this suburb of San Francisco, a few weeks and several thousand miles removed from the pressures and get-ahead attitude of Harvard, I’m beginning to believe that there are things just as valuable as landing that cushy research job or internship.

For one thing, this summer is my opportunity to improve my physical fitness. In high school, I ran cross country and track and field, grueling sports that demand top physical form. I confess that I’ve let that slip a bit while in Cambridge, where there is too much schoolwork and too few trails and rolling hills to entice me to go on daily 90-minute runs like I used to. Now the hills are once more in my backyard, so it’s time to lace up the shoes again.

I’ve also decided to make personal enrichment a big goal for this summer. I’m planning to learn (or at least begin the study of) the Latin language. I’m going to start preparing for the LSAT. And I’m finally going to master the computer language C++, even if it kills me.

Ambitious? Perhaps not. But suddenly what my mother told me a while ago begins to make sense:

“Enjoy and take advantage of your vacations while you can. You only get to be 20 once.”

So I’m not as ashamed of being jobless this summer anymore. It’s not the end of the world if you have nothing to do this summer. Just be sure to make the most of it.

Lowell K. Chow ’06, a history concentrator in Eliot House, is the photography chair of The Crimson. He estimates he will fully catch up on lost sleep sometime around the end of July.