Tips for a Successful College Summer
I will never be able to articulate how painful and difficult it can be to constantly be juggling a life at home and a life at college. The transition we all have to make after each long break at home (the worst being summer) to going back to school is more difficult than anyone likes to admit. No one talks about how hard it is to establish a life at college only to be back at your hometown with so many unknowns. For me, it is most difficult to find a life back at home when the year at college was already difficult. There seems to be pressure to make this a very restful yet productive summer. Overwhelmed with wanting to make as much money as possible, wanting to get to the gym 5 days a week, and still being able to rest is quite the juggling act. The biggest thing to remember in my opinion is that it might take a while to get adjusted back to being in your hometown, and truth is, you might not ever. 4 months is a long time, yet it goes by in the blink of an eye. Stop putting so much pressure on yourself. It is not going to be easy to find your ground again after a year away at college, and your hometown is not your college town. Things will be different, people evolve and change, and things will never be like they were. I feel that. We are not in high school anymore, and it can be sad and lonely at times to not be with your college friends. Use this time to be productive, but don’t put pressure on yourself to have it all together. This is a time of reset, recharge, and restoration. I think I can speak for a lot of us college kids when I say coming home from college was very exciting and new, but a few weeks in and you’re already tired and confused because life is not what it was a month ago. But that’s okay. Make the money, yes, but fill your free time with things that fill you up. For me, that’s going to the gym to have time for myself, writing, playing guitar, and spending time with my family. I do these things to make sure I am not mentally draining myself during my summer break.
When I feel like I need a mental break, or start to feel lonely, my favorite thing to do is write down my feelings (if you can’t tell). My biggest encouragement to you for the summer while you are away from college (and even during school) is to journal. One thing about journaling is it allows you to escape from your mind and place your feelings in a place other than your mind. When you get stuck in your mind for whatever reason, journaling is a great way to get out of there. It also is amazing because you are able to see how you’ve grown in the future. I kept a journal this whole year at school, and reading what I wrote allows me to see the goodness of God because of where I am now. More specifically, keep a gratitude journal. These are particularly beneficial because they set your mindset on positive things and keep everything in perspective. I linked my favorite one down here, and I encourage you to consider purchasing because it has gotten me through many ups and downs!
If you take anything away from this post, I hope it is an assurance that you are not alone in your feelings about being home for the summer. Whether it is joy, loneliness, sadness, or confusion, I think we have all been there. At our age, (18-22), it can be difficult to manage becoming an adult but living at home. Remember this is only temporary, and you will look back on this time as being the time that shapes who you are in the future. It is a formative time full of blessings and new beginnings, and God will be there every step of the way!
The Psalmful Journal from Amazon is a gratitude journal that provides prompts for gratitude, prayer requests, and other areas for reflection! Simply taking five minutes a day to set your mind on things above makes a pretty large difference! This is a great tool for any college student that is home for the summer!
