At the end of last Spring Semester, I was forced to make some pretty important decisions. After all, at this point in my academic career, I should be looking for internships and doing stuff to beef up my resume. This growing up and soon-to-be-graduating business can be stressful and scary.

So I applied at a couple of newspapers in my hometown, hoping to find something remotely interesting to pass my summer days.

The thought of putting in all this time and effort, and not being paid really turned me off. I was not one bit enticed at the opportunity to work 40-plus hours a week with a take-home pay of nil. Plus, I had an apartment in the utopia of State College. With a little encouragement from friends and the sickening feeling I got when I thought of going home and living in a town that has nothing to offer but agricultural opportunities, I decided to stay.

I will not lie -- I had my doubts. How much fun could a college town be with hardly any college students? I had nightmares of sitting in the solitary confinement of my tiny downtown apartment watching Golden Girls reruns for the next four months of my life.

I could not have been more wrong. I took a reporting position with this paper, stayed with my part-time job and had an all-around good time. I honestly can not think of a single moment of boredom during the past three months. I learned so much this summer, both inside and outside of the office.

The beauty of the whole situation is that I was able to work in my future career field without leaving the place I loved so much. I worked on a newspaper staff made up of people my own age and had so much fun doing it. I've become so accustomed to the laid-back atmosphere that adjusting to the returning 30,000 people is going to be a challenge. I noticed myself getting annoyed at the Arts Festival when having to wait in line for absolutely everything. Now I know why some people who live here over the summer despise the return of the "herds of people."

Bars still offer the fun they are famous for, but not having to wait half the night in a line outside and the other half waiting to get a drink is -- if you ask me -- an all-around beautiful situation.

With local attractions like Whipple Dam State Park and a variety of pools in State College, the chance to cool off was never far away.

My bonding experience with State College this past summer has brought us closer together. I've met a lot of interesting people and done a lot of fun stuff. The closing of the summer and the start of a new semester made me a little misty-eyed.

The Fall Semester will bring what it has before -- stress, responsibility and lots of fun.

But I can look back on the summer and this experience as a whole and have not one regret.