In a country like the United States and at a university like Villanova, human dignity and civil rights ought to be respected, and behavior that threatens these ideals must be stopped in its tracks. Unfortunately, we live in a flawed system that allows pervasive infringement on the peace and joy of upperclassmen.

Professors, advisors, parents, younger students and even our own peers are the guilty parties in these obscene offenses. 

“What are you doing this summer?” they ask.

“Do you have an internship lined up?” they query.

“Have you updated your LinkedIn recently?” they question.

Frankly, it is troubling that these violations of privacy are socially acceptable in this day and age. And, really, the individuals berating me with these questions couldn’t even begin to understand the depth of effort I have gone to in recent months to sort out summer plans; if they did, they wouldn’t dare engage in such invasive interrogation.

For example, I thought about making an appointment at the Career Center a couple weeks ago. I really nearly made one, and I think I actually might make one soon. Even before that, I opened up my resume (yes, that’s right, the one that I’ve just been editing and adding to since eighth grade) and slightly changed the accent color I use for my bullet points. 

All this, and people still have the gall to question me? Unacceptable, really.

I even opened up Handshake the other day and scrolled for a while. The issue I ran into is the fault of that pesky aforementioned system again. For some reason, my aims to do something perfectly ethically pristine, emotionally rewarding, low-pressure, low-responsibility, extremely high-paying and requiring no work on an application don’t seem to align. I have heard many a time from wiser people than me that I should not settle for anything I don’t believe in, so I unfortunately had no choice but to exit the tab without saving any jobs. 

Actually, speaking of sticking to my principles, my choice (yes, you ready that right, my choice) not to have any professional experience lined up yet for this summer is actually a brave, daring and thought-provoking protest toward the mindless college-to-work pipeline that is killing young people’s spirits these days. That’s right, I am taking a groundbreaking stand against the dangerous norm of following the crowd into an educational internship pointed toward a stable career. I am showing my peers that finding one’s own direction is a viable and valuable course of action.

And just how do I plan to find my own direction if no internship is secured in the next month and a half, you ask? I have a few ideas. I have been meaning to get really into knitting for a couple years now, so maybe I’ll do that. Or perhaps I’ll write the next great American novel—“confused upper-middle class white girl in her twenties” is a perspective that has never been put to paper, and I think I’d be doing the world a favor by speaking my revolutionary truth. Or maybe I’ll just travel. I did just come back from a semester abroad, but I don’t think I got enough worldliness in; another couple months ignoring my real-world responsibilities is just what I need. 

Clearly, I have a lot going on. I’m putting my heart, soul and spirit into the job search process, while also actually taking a stand against our problematic model of getting internships and jobs in the summer instead of doing anything and everything else. 

On top of all this, the last thing my peers or I need is to be asked about what we’re doing this summer. It is debilitating and normalizes a disgusting breach of our peace of mind. Do better, world, because I am doing everything I can.