“Just found out that I’ll be spending the summer in Istanbul!”

“Headed to Barcelona this summer!”

“Bye-bye US, and hello France! Accepted into a summer program today!”

So begins many a recent Facebook status, reflecting (appropriately) the excitement of those lucky few given spots in study abroad programs for the summer. Understandably, these animated posts garner almost unparalleled support from the online community, sending them to the top of friends’ newsfeeds for their viewing pleasure. Fittingly, the happy cycle of “liking” and “commenting” continues without hindrance, until, of course, the post reaches someone less enthused by the vocalized success.

Invariably, acceptances come tandem with rejections—often, even, the balance tips in favor of the latter. This fact is one that we, especially, should be keenly aware of. All’s well and good with a post about a memorable summer to come, but it’s certainly read differently by someone denied the same opportunity. Delight for a friend is sometimes, sadly, overcome by a sense of failure. But why that feeling of underachievement?

The issue, in the context of our summers, reaches far deeper than a mere tension between acceptance and rejection. By publishing acceptances so prominently on social media, we perpetuate the myth that the only route to a successful summer is through an expensive, intensive program in a foreign country. It would seem that the notion of having “just a summer job, at home” has been stigmatized to the point of irreconcilable inferiority, lacking in all respects to an internship or slate of classes, domestic or international.

This is neither the case nor an acceptable course to maintain.