As I finish the spring semester of my freshman year, I feel eager to start the fall semester of sophomore year. I’ve loved my experience at Rutgers thus far: my friends, my clubs, my classes. And I can’t wait to repeat it again.

After my finals ended two weeks ago, there was a bittersweet feeling as I moved out. I was sad that my time as a first-year student was coming to a close. At the same time, however, I was excited for next year. For a new apartment, more challenging classes, and to not have to undergo the trouble adapting to a new environment at the beginning of the year. Nonetheless, I realized that before I started this exciting new adventure, I would have to get through a bit of a limbo period — summer vacation.

Summer is great. Summer is filled tons of free time with friends, family, and fun. But, this free time can also lead to long, mindless days of lazing around. I had few solidified plans for the summer, which made me wary about the black hole of time it presented. As I packed my last few boxes, I almost wished I could skip the summer, and the uncertainty of what I was going to do with my time.

Even so, I’ve realized that uncertainty is part of life and that each experience has the potential to contribute to personal growth. Even though I’m excited to start the new semester, I should turn my focus to this summer and focus on making it memorable. I wanted my attention to be on the present and not the future.

That is not to say that thinking about the future is bad. It isn’t at all. Thinking about the future may allow you to determine your goals and motivations, and can be a huge help to guiding how you want to live your daily life. However, getting caught up and thinking solely about the future may prompt you to forget about making the most of the present. Therefore, in the words of Albus Dumbledore, “it does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”