You told yourself this would be your summer. You would have a fabulous time partying with friends and being productive, but you say this every time school ends. And every time it doesn’t happen. I know; I’ve been there. Here are some ways we can all fix that.
1. Talking to people
Is hard and makes you anxious, but asking friends to hang out isn’t going to kill you either (really, it won't). It might not lead to something immediately and rejection sucks, but eventually your social life will blossom. Why? Because if you ask first, they will start thinking of you as someone to invite when they're making plans. You'll be invited out more and that will snowball into a full schedule of seeing all those summer blockbusters, making late-night ice-cream runs, and attempting to build a fire in the fire pit at one in the morning. Some plans are even arranged at current hangout events, and if you’re not there, you won’t be invited to the next one. So get yourself out there (as much as it dreads you to think about) and have some summertime fun.
2. That pesky sleep schedule
That gives you dark circles even though it’s summer and you should be relaxed. Going to bed early is so difficult I won’t even suggest it as a viable solution. But try to have a sleep pattern. If you go to bed at ten, great. Good for you. If you go to bed at ten and stay up until four in the morning, less great but keep it consistent. A schedule helps even if you become seasonally nocturnal. Plus, it will be easier to make plans with friends or solely for yourself, because you wanted to get that tedious activity done for weeks. You know the one.
3. Food
Have you ever felt fatigued despite getting ten hours of sleep and doing nothing but binging your TV show or a new book series? That’s because your body isn’t getting enough proper nutrients. But you don’t have to start exclusively eating vegetables. Making your favorite snack healthier will work wonders, such as switching the Lucky Charms with Honeynut Cheerios, having baked potato chips instead of the regular greasy ones, or even as little as putting less or no butter on your popcorn.
No, juice cleanses and crazy diets are not necessary to get more energy. The only thing you need is little changes and some more moderation. Ice cream, cookies, and cookie-dough ice cream are all amazing, but limiting how much "bad" stuff you eat is always beneficial. You don’t have to quit soda or fast food completely, but slight cutbacks will drastically improve your health. You’ll have more energy and generally be happier even while you’re missing McDonald’s fries.
4. Sunscreen
Wear it. Yes, it will slow down your epic summer tan, but it will also help prevent skin cancer. You should still wear it if you have darker skin, and especially if you’re on the fairer side. Society collectively wants to get tanner, but nobody wants to turn red and feel the heat radiating off their skin. It hasn’t even started to peel, and the sunburn is already awful. Creating healthy skin habits in our youth will have amazing benefits once we all hit middle age. You will have less wrinkles, and you won’t get that leathery textured look some people have from too much sun exposure. Sunscreen will also help prevent facial brown spots and skin discolorations, and reduce the appearance of facial red veins and blotchiness later on in life.
5. Stay Hydrated
This one is often overlooked or just plain ignored. Drinking water will keep you energetic and awake, and prevent dehydration and the headaches that come with it. Water also helps your skin enormously. Staying hydrated will work better than your moisturizer because it saturates your muscles, organs, and skin from the inside out, and your body will flush out toxins better, through sweat and urine. Water also helps with weight loss, because it makes you feel fuller, you’ll eat less, and your calorie intake will drop once it’s substituted for the sugary drinks. The normal recommended amount is eight glasses a day, and your urine can also be an indicator. It should be a pale yellow, because the lighter the color the more hydrated you are.
