There is nothing like that feeling when it finally starts to feel like spring after a long snowy (and windy) UMass winter season. As soon as the temperature reaches about 50-60°F, the students of UMass are out in the sun to soak up those few warm weeks before the long-awaited summer break. As young adults still in school, we romanticize the idea of summer during the school year – car windows down, music blasting, beach days, and a whole lot of fun. I remember mentioning to my friends all of the things I was so eager to do this summer, including forming new habits like going to the gym, learning how to make healthy meals for myself, and getting an early start to my day to get the most out of my summer. In addition to that, I had a few vacations planned that I couldn’t wait to go on – Walt Disney World, Montauk, Southold, Hershey Park, literally all of my favorite places!
We romanticize summer immensely, preparing for months in advance all of our vacation destinations and the fun little things we can do in between, all just for the time to fly by and for us to feel like we didn’t really do that much. That new and improved summer me that I was aiming to be by attempting to develop new habits wasn’t consistent, leaving me feeling like I am in the same place I was before and not satisfied enough to look forward to beginning school again in the fall.
It seems like feeling this way is pretty common, along with the anticipation of the first day of classes when people are continuously asking, “What did you do this summer?” and you have to scrounge up those few exciting sounding moments from those months to share because who really wants to hear about how you laid in bed all day binge-watching Friends? This should not have to be something to feel embarrassed or awkward about, though. What being ‘productive’ means day-to-day is whatever we, ourselves, define it as. If I’m feeling lazy or just down in the dumps one day and I decide to spend the day at home, there are pretty simple things I can do to make me feel like I’m being productive. There would be days when the most productive thing I did was embark on a trudge from my bed to my living room couch to lounge and watch TV with my cat, and I have absolutely no shame in that. Other things I’d consider productive during my lazy days at home involved simply making breakfast, painting my nails, and making coffee, all of which were just easy things that made me happy and feel like I did something. If you Google the real definition of productive, although typically in relation to the production of goods, the Merriam-Webster dictionary website states, “yielding results, benefits, or profits” (Productive Definition & Meaning). This definition can be interpreted to relate to our mental health and having ourselves define productivity in our day-to-day lives because it means whatever will bring us a benefit, like happiness, for example.
What ‘being productive’ means to us during our off-time in the summer can be whatever we want it to be. Productive evenings could consist of socializing and going out with our friends, but it can also very well be having a self-care day (or days) at home in bed with a face mask on, binging our favorite comfort show, or spending hours playing the Sims 4, which I know filled a good portion of my summer. The point is, if you are a homebody and like to spend days in bed in your off-time, you shouldn’t have to feel pressured to go out into the social world and do things just because you have FOMO from comparing your current situation to others who actually enjoy being out.
I know for myself, I’m not always in the best state of mind when I’m by myself. Quarantining in 2020 caused me to have to deal with such an extended period of time alone, though, so I got more comfortable with it by discovering things that I enjoyed doing to pass the time. COVID-19 has caused many of us to become homebodies, and that’s okay! The more time you spend with yourself, you will begin to appreciate your free time and feel more obliged to care for and love yourself and make the most out of it. Time spent alone or having lazy days at home can only be appreciated and give you the feeling of satisfaction if you make the most out of it and do what you enjoy. With that said, the ‘Best Summer Ever’ could’ve been spent at home curled up in bed, at least that’s what I have come to terms with.
Productivity varies from person to person, being defined as whatever it is that brings you satisfaction or feels beneficial to you. Creating this ideal version of summer sometimes causes us to feel disappointed or unfulfilled once it comes to an end and makes us feel like we did not do anything seemingly interesting. However, this feeling can be overcome by making lazy self-care days worthwhile by doing anything that makes us feel productive and content, and not being ashamed to spend time with just ourselves.
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