How to transition to summer
We all love summer, but it can feel extremely weird going home at first, especially after your freshman year. So much has changed in the past nine months, and suddenly you’re thrust back into your old life. You go from pretty much no rules at all back to answering to your parents, and from jam-packed weeks to lazy summer days. Moving from the nonstop pace of dorm life to home life often feels like you’re forced to put one version of your life on hold and start up another. This change can be pretty jarring, and the first few days especially seem like a limbo where you’re still in the college mindset but you’re not physically there anymore.Here are some tips for that transition home for the summer:
- Sleep (a lot)
It’s highly likely you are extremely sleep-deprived, and your body’s beginning to hate you for it. Also, everything tends to feel way more dramatic when you’re running on two-hours of sleep and five shots of espresso. Sleeping will help you relax and get you ready to take on the next three months, and it also just feels really great to actually be well rested. So, get your eight hours (or let’s be real, twelve).
- Write it down
This may seem extraordinarily cheesy, but no matter how your year went, it can be very cathartic to write about it. If your year was great, you’ll want to remember it forever and reminisce about all the little moments you might forget. If 2016 wasn’t your best year, looking back on these feelings will remind you just how far you’ve come when things do get better. Recount all your favorite memories: the time you pulled an all-nighter talking to your friends, the night you maybe drank a little more than you should have, the night you stayed in and watched movies until your eyes hurt. These are the things you will accidentally stumble upon ten years from now and you will be so grateful you took the time to write it down for later. You’re allowed to get a little sentimental every once in a while, and this will help your year feel like it really is complete.
- Be lazy
You might already be missing the fast pace of college clubs, activities, and social life, but a few days of pure, blissful laziness will help you remember why summer break is God’s gift to students everywhere. Don’t get out of your bed for the entire day if you don’t want to. Watch an entire show (not a season, the whole show) in one sitting and then flinch at the light of day when you actually go outside. Eat ice cream for breakfast and wear the same pajamas for a week straight. College is one of the last times we get three months off from our normal responsibilities, so be the couch potato your heart is telling you to be.
- Call/Skype your college friends
The best way to feel like your college life hasn't completely vanished is by keeping in touch with the friends who made your year everything that it was. Try to talk to them at least semi-regularly and keep them in your lives. It’ll bring you even closer together, and then when you come back in the fall, you can pick up in person exactly where your last call ended. Even if you can’t see each other in person over the summer, doing things like watching the same TV show, reading the same book, or sharing your new favorite album will make it feel like you’re still doing things together.
- Of course, have the reunion with your high school friends you’ve been waiting for
Probably one of the biggest reasons to be excited about summer break is seeing your best friends from home you’ve missed with every fiber of your being. The people you used to see every day, the ones who knew you when you had braces and horrific taste in clothes, are back together again, and it’s magical. Catch up on college stories, do all your old favorite things together, and tell them all the things you knew only they would understand.
Summer can be odd at first, but it’s also wonderful, so cherish these homework-free months full of home cooked meals and old friends. Before you know it, it’ll be September and you’ll be daydreaming about summer all over again. Images via, via, and via
