While returning home from this past semester of college at Syracuse University, I hadn't truly thought of what adapting to life in Maine would be like as I had been away at college for so long. On the ride home, I stared out the window (for the short time I was awake) and just pondered the fact that I could be spending my entire summer back home—and how much I was not used to that.
As we pulled in the driveway I knew I needed to figure out my summer plans and learn to adapt to living in Maine once again. I was so happy to be back with my closest friends, but I knew I would miss my friends from college and all of the experiences I had back in Syracuse.
As this was my first year of college, I had not known what the process of being home for the summer from college would be like, and I was already missing my memories from school.
After a few nights of FaceTime calls to college friends and bonding with my cats and family, I knew I needed to make this summer as wholesome as possible. I started to head out to my favorite places in Maine—ones that I would not have much time to go to while in high school.
I would spend time at the beach, shopping, exploring downtown Portland, and simply just doing things that make me happy. Whether doing these things with friends or by myself, I learned how content I am just exploring and having time to be extremely happy in my hometown.
With summer internship and work opportunities, I truly had no idea what would happen with my summer—so I chose to spend each day doing things that made me the happiest.
I had originally planned to spend my summer in New York City, and as I have chosen to stay in Maine for the summer, I actually feel more content than I had before. I have definitely learned that it in order to be happiest, you must do the things you love the most and make as much time for those things as possible.
I definitely had doubts about how my summer would play out, but I am confident that these next few months will be filled with experiences that I will make sure are amazing.
I must say, after grasping the experiences in Maine that I have missed while away at college, I understand that this summer has so much potential to be amazing—and that it will be.