Whether you’re spending your summer on a beach in Hawaii or at home with an internship, retail job or a summer college course, it can be hard to feel truly relaxed. Without the structure of school and the constant nearness to friends, summer often ends up feeling empty and stressful if you don’t fill it with the right things. True relaxation comes from feelings of contentment and serenity. The key to having a fun-filled summer — even with everything you have going on — starts with finding relaxation.
One of the first things you can do is fill your free time with things that don’t require too much work for your brain. I’m not talking about the doom scroll on social media we have all become used to. I want to avoid the overstimulation and mind-numbing effect social media can have. I mean things like reading, crafting or maybe a puzzle. Is there anything you’ve been craving to do? Maybe it’s your dream to be one of those girls who can go to a thrift store and see the potential in something most people would discard. Learn how to sew! Pick anything that promotes a feeling of relaxation.
Make sure you leave some time for socialization. Spend time with people who make you happy and calm. Reach out to that hometown friend you fell out of touch with and get coffee with them. FaceTime and text the friends from school that you won’t see until August. Just make sure you communicate with the people you want to communicate with. Sometimes I push off texting someone until it feels too late to reach out. All that manages to do is make me worried and stressed. All in all — if you’re texting the right people — making time to socialize makes all the difference in how relaxed you feel.
Finally — and most importantly — make sure you are getting enough sleep and taking care of your body. I’m probably not saying anything you haven’t heard before, but eat good food, go on walks, and get plenty of fresh air. The better you feel, the more relaxed you’ll be.
With summer on the horizon, it’ll be easy to want to slump back and do nothing. You deserve it after all the hard work you did this year! But — whether that’s your plan or you are going to do as much work as you can — it is so important to find a way to relax in a healthy way.