I know many will agree with me when I say that this school year has been the most exhausting, draining, and stressful one yet. In the last 12 months, we have seen record levels of mental health problems, financial loss, trauma, and the list goes on. As we approach midterm season and are nearly in the home stretch of the semester, I cannot wait to be finished. With how demanding some professors are, reading week hardly felt like any sort of break. That being said, I am looking forward to the summer and not worrying about meeting any deadlines.
One of the things to look forward to the most is having WAY fewer responsibilities! My favourite thing to do is to have a lazy day and, obviously, it’s hard to do that guilt-free while taking a full course load. When the term is over, you will find me in bed all day doing absolutely nothing but having the time of my life. You can use this time to finally breathe and practice some REAL self-care! With no time constraint (like classes or due-dates), you can actually take the time needed to fully repair and rejuvenate!
The other thing I love about school ending is that I can finally open up my availability at work and take more hours! Although I do enjoy my lazy-doing-nothing days, working in the summer makes me feel like I have a purpose. Plus, who doesn’t want to make money all summer? It gives you some independence while figuring out how to manage your finances in a way that suits your needs best. For those of you who weren’t able to work during the term, now is your chance! With school not being a constant worry anymore, the summer break is a great time to find part-time/full-time/summer positions. If working isn’t in your interests, you can even use this time to pick up a new hobby that you didn’t have time for during school.
Third, and finally, given that restrictions lift and COVID allows it, my favourite part about the end of the term is finally being able to hang out with my friends without worrying if I’m missing any discussion posts or participation assignments. With the entire academic year being remote, it is so easy to miss small assignments. Weekly discussion posts have become a favourite for professors this year, but if you’re taking five courses and all of them require weekly posts, you can imagine how taxing that is. It is extremely easy to forget about them because, as simple as they may seem, sometimes they actually require a lot of effort, and students still have all their major assignments and tests to submit on top of all that.
If there’s anything I’ve learnt from the last year, it’s that growth – in every form – is constant. From emotions to maturity, to physical attributes, we’ve all gone through changes as a result of this crazy year. I think it’s safe to say that we all deserve a proper break to re-energize and reboot. We’ve all been tested in strenuous ways and it’s time we start prioritizing ourselves! Universities have gone through many challenges when it comes to changing the way they administer everything as a result of the pandemic; however, in a way, I feel like the institutions have suffered no loss and the students have. With that being said, I am the most excited to simply be done with any academic responsibilities and to finally be able to channel all my energy into my own self-care!