It is widely known and agreed upon that summer break is entirely too short. Seriously, one day you wake up in blissful freedom and the next you are wondering where the days went as you walk to your eight a.m. class. If you are anything like me, you always have a handful of things you wanted to do before school once again totally consumed all of your time.
In my own experience, I strive to make sure the list isn’t very long, but it is usually inevitable. At the end of the summer I have to mentally kick myself for not going to that one concert or for not going on that one last trip. I always carry a little regret for all the days I “waste” during the break. It’s not like I am a slob and simply become one with the couch and my laptop day in and day out, but there are those few times I recall not taking advantage of the glorious, agenda free summer. However, more so now than before I am realizing that I am too young and time is too precious to simply squander it all away, so I am proposing a solution to this regrettable problem. It’s time to stop regretting because you have not and time to start smiling because you have.
The first and most important step in this formula is actually quite simple: stop waiting for the right time. Here is the truth, if you waiting for when the time makes sense or seems to fit best in your current situation, it is never going to. Now, I am aware that our generation has gotten a bad reputation for being too impatient and too absorbed in the moment, but in all honestly right now is all we have! Who ever said that second chances are guaranteed? If you keeping waiting on those incredibly moments you keeping wishing for they are all going to fly right out of your reach. Today, this moment is the only time that is promised to you. The time is right whenever you have the courage to say it is. So, you want to go on that spontaneous trip? Go. You want to go do that thing you never seem have time for? Do it. Reach out and take hold of those moments because you may never have the chance to again. Now is the time to go and do. Now is the time to go and see.
The second step in this formula may be a little more difficult for some: stop feeling so guilty. Whether it’s about something you like doing, something you’re not particularly good at, or something that maybe not everyone agrees is a “cool” thing to do, stop making yourself feel guilty. We were all made to have life and have it in abundance, so just get out there and do you no matter what someone else says. You want to binge watch Netflix instead of cleaning your apartment? Sure. Want to lie out by the pool all day and enjoy the pleasure of not having anywhere to be or anything to do? Go for it. Rest is a good thing and I believe the summer is the perfect time to catch up on it.
Even with what seems like so little time in our hands, we are actually able to do so much more. So, the next time that weekend getaway comes up or that band you’ve been dying to see comes through town, you know what to do.
