Vacations were booked, internships were completed, summer jobs were worked and memories were made. Many students spent their summer vacation building memories to look back on for years to come, whether that was studying abroad, working a summer job, spending time with family or so much more.

Fernanda Vazquez, a marketing junior, spent a weekend in Italy with her friends. In Italy, she was able to go explore Capri, an island in Italy. The trip to Italy not only let her explore, but it allowed her summer vacation to feel complete.

“I feel like this summer was one of those summers where it felt like summer,” Vazquez said. “I feel like with traveling I was able to relax and now I’m ready to start school. It feels like I actually got to do my summer break right.”

While students like Vazquez travel with the intention to explore, some students take on summer as a chance to travel to learn.

Olivia Saunders, a dual-major senior in physics and Spanish, went to Spain to study abroad. Along with being able to travel with Texas State President Kelly Damphousse, Saunders was able to meet people from different parts of the world and connect with them through a desire to learn the Spanish language.

“I was hanging out with people from a bunch of different places like there were people from Taiwan and Great Britain,” Saunders said. “It was really nice because we were speaking in Spanish and I was there to practice my Spanish but up until that point, there were still a lot of people that spoke in English. I felt great because I was able to practice my Spanish and I was able to just have a great conversation. It was just a really nice experience.”

Although traveling was a great way to learn, explore and create life-long memories, students like Erik Drummond, a graduate student with a concentration in physics, spent his summer at home working full-time and hanging out with his friends.

Compared to other summers, Drummond felt that this one was his best one yet. Being on a consistent work schedule allowed himself to be on track with a healthy lifestyle.

“Most [summers] I didn’t really have such a set routine,” Drummond said. “I mainly stayed at home, kind of just kept to myself in a kind of reclusive manner. This is probably why it’s the best summer compared to the previous ones where I was a lot less active and not as progressive in terms of meeting my goals.”

For students that weren’t able to go on vacation or have an ideal summer, Drummond believes that it’s okay to stay at home, relax and make the best out of an academic break.

“Traveling and everything is very stressful sometimes,” Drummond said. “If you have the opportunity, just take a step back and relax with your family for one summer. Honestly just experience what life will be like once you are done [with school]. You know, it took me a while to get to that.”

For students that are looking to treat their free time in the fall like a summer vacation, go to www.visitsanmarcos.com/events to keep up with upcoming concerts, festivals and more.