A Seward Summer! Honest Review
Have you heard the phrase Seward Summer within the last month or two of the spring semester? Maybe you haven’t heard the phrase and you’re currently asking what the heck a Seward summer is? It is also known as Sewy summer. This is when you and a bunch of other students decide to stay on campus or live in Seward over the summer. Shoutout to all my homies staying in Seward over the summer; this article is for you and those of you who are thinking of staying in Seward over the summer. I have curated an honest list of the pros and cons of staying in Seward over the summer.
Summer 2023 is my second Seward summer. I will be honest, after finishing my Sophomore year, I was not expecting to stay in Seward nor did I really want to at first. These were my exact thoughts last year: “I want to go home for one more summer to spend with my family before I have to grow up and get an internship or a real job. But I also don’t want to work at my old high school job. But I also live in the middle of nowhere, so where am I going to find a better job and still live at home?” I applied to many different internships and jobs around my hometown and I only got one answer, n-o. Very disappointing, but God proved to me that it’s not my way, it’s His way. So if you are in a similar position, I completely understand.
I was a little upset, but everything fell into place for me here in Seward. I had housing on campus and worked at a new on-campus job that would benefit my major and future career too! Crazy how that all works out. Once I was officially settled, I could then begin my very first Seward summer.
Pro: Seward to yourself
Whether you are living on campus or off, Seward feels much less hectic and not so crowded without our campus of college students. It sounds funny, but it’s true. It’s just different and you get to experience Seward as Seward and not the Concordia Seward. Now, you can walk around the square, go thrifting, swim at the pool, go to Pawnee or Branched Oak, spend your time at the coffee shops, etc without running into too many people.
Con: Feeling isolated
Step one to a Seward summer is figuring out who else is staying in Seward for the summer. Knowing who out of your friends are staying is very critical. There will be days or nights when you are super bored or you don’t want to bother your friends because you know they just got off a long day of work. Here’s a secret, if you are feeling lonely: reach out to them anyways. There is a high chance they are bored too. You can take a walk, ride a bike, read your bible, and enjoy the weather before we enter seven months of cold and gloomy winter.
Pro: The Fourth of July
Guys… Seward is America’s Fourth of July City. By a vote of Congress, Seward was named "America's Official Fourth of July City-Small Town USA" in 1979. Additionally, Governor James Exon has declared Seward the "Official Fourth of July City of Nebraska." I mean COME ON! How cool is that? If you don’t take time out of your life at least once to experience a Seward Fourth of July, then you are missing out on so much fun. There are so many activities, vendors, contests, a parade, and a huge firework show with parachuters!
Con (but could also be a Pro depending on your stance): Janzow is closed
Yeah, you will be making all of your meals on your own. This also means you have to go grocery shopping and watch your money go bye-bye. You will learn which brands are the cheapest at Walmart and you will most likely eat the same five meals over and over again unless you are highly motivated and love cooking.
Pro: Random adventures with your friends
My favorite times during a Seward summer, are the days that you and your friends go to Branched Oak to swim, have a barbeque/bonfire in a friend's backyard, have movie nights, drive around during Seward’s huge garage sale weekend, or find concerts and going to as many as possible (that’s what I did). Summer is the perfect time to have all the fun you can without the stress of school and I hope you can take advantage of that if your schedule allows. You won’t regret it at all.
Con: Nebraska Summer Weather
It is not the worst thing in the world, but it is also not the best. Seward had a very bad storm with high winds and large hail last summer. Walmart took one of the hardest beatings, but so did my car, literally. My entire back window broke and the entirety of my car looked like a golf bar. Let’s just say, Wonda the Honda did not make it out of insurance alive and neither did my bank account. But hey, like I said earlier, you develop and grow in a lot of life skills and these are things that are just out of your control.
As I enter my second Seward summer, I can look back and see how last year’s summer has benefited and prepared me for this summer and my future heading forward. I now have the internship I so badly wanted, have been working for the university’s marketing department for a year now, and have even more friends living in Seward this summer to make some awesome memories with.
While this is a very random Pros and Cons list, that is the best way to describe a Seward summer. Random. But also very good. I had lots of fun during my first Seward summer and I made so many great memories. I’m grateful for all of the experiences I had and I definitely can say it was all a part of God’s plan for me, even though I didn’t want it at first. Whether a Seward summer is in your plan or not, just know He has a perfect plan for you no matter what.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”