This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Point Park chapter.
For a lot of students (especially freshmen), going home for the summer can be scary. You’ve just formed a whole new life, full of new routines and social patterns for eight months. Now you have to leave your new best friends behind for four months and go back to life before college. Are things going to be the same? Will you still have the same friends you did before school? Where are you going to go on Friday nights now!?
Don’t fret! We’ve got all the tips you need for the next couple weeks of school to prepare you for going home.
1. Re-light the flames!
- No, this doesn’t mean start a fire in your dorm before the semester’s up. What we really mean is to get in contact with all of your old friends from home. Make sure you catch up with people you hope to see over the summer so you’re not sitting in your room bored all season (and constantly debating with yourself whether or not it’s a good idea to hit up that one person you were more acquaintances with than anything else). Start your summer plans now!
2. Have a job or internship ready.
- To keep yourself busy in between your downtime and social time, and to keep your work ethic alive, get a summer job or internship. You’ll make money that you can save up for when school rolls around again, or to save up for a trip at the end of summer to burn off that list bit of steam before classes!
3. Go to the gym.
- Get bikini-body fit by going to the gym every week, as much as you can. This is beneficial in more ways than one because not only will you look smokin’ throughout summer and when school starts back up, but you will feel amazing. The amount of energy you will have from going to the gym and getting healthy will make your summer much more eventful. No more sleeping in until 2 pm and wasting half your day away!
4. Take some down time for yourself.
- You don’t have to be constantly busy to enjoy your summer. After being done with classes, one of the last things you will want to do is run around every day. Take a day to yourself to maybe read outside during the nice weather, go lay out by the pool, or even stay in bed and watch movies. Time to yourself will feel relaxing and pleasant, which will have you in a much better mood for the week.
5. Find the hotspots around home!
- Your social life can’t die when you go home for summer. You’re going to have that itch to go out and have some fun, so ask your friends if anybody is having any summer parties or bonfires that you can crash, and find the cool spots to hangout near the city. The best adventures to have at home are the ones you have always had available to you. Go on a midnight drive through the park with your friends, go stargazing with some music in the fields, or even go on a hunt for the coolest little shops around town that you’ve never heard of.
6. Make big summer plans!
- Whether it’s a road trip to visit friends at school, or even a day trip to the nearest lake, plan time for adventures! These will create memories you’ll be able to keep with you forever. It’s true when they say these are the best years of our lives, but they aren’t just talking about our time at school! Make the summer just as incredible.
7. Don’t let your motivation disappear.
- The most important thing to keep with you this summer is your motivation. You don’t want to go back to school stuck in summer-mode and start the semester on a bad foot. You’re going to want to focus on your classes to get your work done at an easy pace, while still thinking about how you’re going to enjoy the last bit of warm weather after classes that week.