Planning and doing are two very different things, and I am not afraid to admit that summer got the best of me. I did absolutely zero of the things on my imaginary checklist and am willing to bet the same happened to you!
Beach Every Day
There is no better finals week motivation than imagining your toes in the sand and salt in your hair. Once you were done with flash cards, exams and papers, you were going to plop yourself in a beach chair and stay there for three months. Although that was a fun library, you soon realized work never ends since you need money to support your college lifestyle (aka food and lots of it). Whether it was part time, or hopefully a paid internship, you were unfortunately productive these past few months and beach trips were only ever squeezed in on off days, many of which were stormy.
Having the Perfect Summer Body
You might have spent your semester going to the gym every day and eating nothing but greens. Or you might have counted your walk to class every day as a work out itself. Whichever girl you are (and I’m willing to bet you’re the second), we all pictured ourselves with the perfect bikini body this summer. Once that time came, however, it didn’t matter how athletic you were or how healthy you ate at school, your routine fell apart and you stuffed your face with favorite hometown meals and you are not alone. We all spent summer mornings at our favorite bagel place and summer nights at the hot ice cream shop. Don’t worry, you still looked fab in that bikini and there’s always next year, right?
Going Out Every Night
As you anticipated summer, you were so excited to see high school friends, relive your favorite memories and visit all your college besties. It sounded like the perfect summer plan, but the joke was on you when you actually spent it in front of the TV, watching the Bachelorette, with your mom. Or maybe even with your cat, we don’t judge! Although you attended a few backyard parties filled with people you didn’t even talk to in high school, and you reunited your college friends (like twice), you are ready to have a social life again, because you deserve it after being cooped up for three months.
Becoming a Bronzed Goddess
The thing I’m most excited about when summer starts is how tan I’m going to get and how great I’m going to look. So, the only logical option is to tan every single day, for the whole summer, and hope skin cancer doesn’t come knocking. However, the summer gods are never on our side and that perfect glow is reserved for the models they airbrush it onto. We had to go to work. We had to run errands. We decided Netflix was a better way to spend our day or Mother Nature literally rained on our parade. So our bodies remained as white as the glow from our computer screens, but at least we can fake this one with a spray tan and nobody will ever know.
Now that summer is over and school is starting again, it’s time for us to continue this streak by not following through on our fall plans and preparing for the best time of the year, syllabus week. Good luck!!