It doesn’t have to be perfect.
To the girl who maybe…
- Didn’t land a summer internship
- Dealt with the loss of a family member
- Worked a job she wasn’t fond of
- Had a breakup
- Didn’t go on an exciting family vacation
- Lost a friend
- Gained or lost weight she didn’t want to
- Took some dreadful summer classes
- Didn’t get as tan as she hoped
- Had tons of breakouts
- Didn’t have the summer she envisioned in one aspect or another…
IT’S OKAY!
Summers can be challenging. Maybe you’re home when you’d rather be at school. Maybe you’re at school when you’d rather be home. Summer comes with a lot of expectations. Some of the biggest ones include “have as much fun as possible,” “look as good as possible,” and/or “get the best internship as possible.” If your summer didn’t match up with your own expectations or those you might’ve seen through others’ Instagram or Snapchat’s hype, you may have faced the nasty feelings of jealousy, resentment or sadness at some point. I’m here to tell you to take a deep breath and let it go right now. I’ll try it with you because I’m feeling some of those emotions, too. Let’s work through it.
Not every summer- any season, month or week, honestly – is going to go as planned! Sometimes life gets in the way of our expectations or arrangements. Sometimes luck is not in our favor. Sometimes we make missteps. Whatever it is, we have to accept the things that strayed or came up out of the blue. The best way to move forward is to concentrate on what went right and well this summer, be them small or seemingly insignificant. Everything has a purpose.
This summer, did you…
- Meet someone new that had a valuable impact on you – personally or professionally?
- See an incredible sunset?
- Have a yummy meal at a new restaurant you tried?
- Read an amazing book?
- Discover something new about yourself?
- Enjoy quality time with family or friends?
- Pick up a new hobby?
- Celebrate a birthday?
- Finally purchase something you’ve been saving up for?
- Finish any TV series?
- Self-reflect?
- See a good movie in the theatre?
- Visit a new town or city?
It might be hard to go back to college this August and September and be faced with the ever-present question, “how was your summer?” This is the perfect time to focus on those positive mini-moments that will make you and others smile. This keeps you and the faces across from you engaged and uplifted in the conversations to come. Chatting about the good will make you appreciate all the happy rather than the not-so-much. Of course, I encourage you to talk to someone professionally if you are having a lot of negative feelings because those are always valid. It’s important to express yourself how you want when you need.
If you take some time to think about it, I promise you will find moments of goodness from this summer that are worth sharing with others. Life is a balancing act- one that is our own and need not be compared with those of others. It’s back to the grind of the fall semester now and the new season brings new events and challenges. Shake off the summer worries and get ready to direct your electric energy onto all the future waiting to come.