It's the end of summer. You might even be blasting "Summertime Sadness" by Lana Del Ray. Eventually, the tan lines will fade and your hair will get darker. Bathing suits are no longer proper attire to wear in public. You will no longer have the salt water streaming through your veins. Not only can we feel summer ending physically, but we also can feel summer ending emotionally. Just like that, we are "falling" back into fall. Although we can physically tell that summer is over (because the bronzed, "just came off the beach" look doesn't last the whole year for most of us), we can still celebrate summer throughout all of the seasons, especially during the bulk of the school year.
Here is an acrostic and guide to fulfill the emotional essence of summer throughout the year, hopefully omitting some of the stress that we have during the other seasons.
S- Sleep
When summer comes around each year, we all look healthier just because we have a little more sleep. We have more days off and less responsibilities, making it easy to get a solid eight hours a night. During the school year, I think it is a unanimous vote that getting a sufficient amount of sleep doesn't exist. There's always a paper to be done, an exam for which to be studied, or a social event to be attended amongst all other activities, social and academic. Remember the "S" of summer by making time for some sleep, even if that means shutting Netflix off for the night.
U- Unwind
Summer is known as the time to unwind. How can anyone have worries when they hear the waves crash with their feet in the sand? During the school year, it is much harder to unwind when you feel like you don't have enough time to accomplish everything that needs to be done. It seems as though there can never be any "you" time or "U" (get it??) time. Remember the "U" of summer by unwinding. Whether it is a movie binge watching here or there, a 25-minute hot shower, or an hour of reading for pleasure, take the time to chill out.
M- Motivate
In summer, we all have motivation. Whether it is the motivation to work a lot to save money for the school year or motivation to go the gym for that hot beach bod, the motivation totally exists. During the school year, the stress makes it very easy for us to lose motivation. Maybe it's the fact that we somehow have three major papers due on the same day, or we get stuck with the professor who never gives out A's. Remember the "M" of summer by motivating yourself. Motivate yourself to be proactive, motivate yourself for that A, or motivate yourself to get that box of cookies under your bed even when you're really comfortable and don't want to move.
M- Manage
You wouldn't realize it, but during the summer we manage a lot. For example, we manage summer jobs, trips to the beach, hangouts with old friends, bonding time with the family, communication with new friends, amongst all the other things in which we are involved. During the school year, it can be hard to manage everything because it seems like too much. Balancing schoolwork and a social life can be extremely challenging. Remember the second "M" of summer by managing your life. Be proactive and finish your assignments early so that you can have the social life as well. You can do it all if you manage your time wisely.
E- Embrace
Summer is a time where we embrace everything. Whether it is embracing the presence of our friends from home who we don't see often, or embracing that beautiful sunrise that we woke up early to see, we definitely treasure these moments. During the school year, stress makes it hard to embrace some moments that we have. We miss out on the true meaning of things because the stress makes us too eager to move on to the next thing. Remember the "E" of summer by embracing the moments. You will only ever be at the same place at the same time with the same people once. Make it worth it and embrace everything.
R- Relax
Summer should pretty much just be synonymous to relaxation. Everything that is heightened during the school year lessens in the summertime. It is a time for us to take a break (while still working and doing other things) and enjoy life without the stress. During the school year, it seems impossible to relax. There is always something that needs to be done immediately, even if that means doing your laundry so that you can finally stop buying underwear online because you ran out of clean pairs. Remember the "R" of summer by relaxing, and I mean a constant state of relaxation. You can still be relaxed and get all of your work done that needs to be done. That sounds a bit unrealistic...but multitasking is definitely a skill!
Hopefully this helps for a less-stressed school year. Of course, you can't physically experience summer by having 90 degree weather all year round along and opting to wear bathing suits as your only clothes. However, you can always experience summer emotionally, even during the dead of winter when you're trekking through 10 feet of snow!
