It's hard to believe that the summer is almost at a close. It feels like just a few weeks ago I was packing up to go home for the summer.

For the longest time, my summer vacations have been a time of adventure, paralleling everyone's favorite movie High School Musical 2. For this upcoming summer, I had ideas in my head of traveling overseas or possibly doing a cross-country road trip. However, 13 weeks have come and gone and now I am preparing myself to pack up and return to school without doing either of the things listed above. Over the past few months, I have been seeing my friends' Instagram posts of their travels and summer experiences with a little bit of sadness that my summer wasn't full of adventure.

I'll let you in on a little secret, your summer doesn't have to be documented on social media or inundated with likes to still have a positive impact. It took me a while to come to this conclusion but reflecting on the past few weeks, I have nothing bad to say and have seen that this summer was all about personal growth. Although I might not have traveled the world, I took two classes which left a great impression on me and opened my eyes to concepts I would never have considered. These classes confirmed that I love my major and my minor more than I thought.

Instead of a cross-country road trip, I worked for Miami Fashion Week and Miami Swim Week. I even had the opportunity to walk for my all-time favorite designer in his show. These experiences, although unconventional for a summer job, helped me realize what I want to do with my future, and that I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to model with hard-working women, even writing an article about them.

This summer allowed me to take time for myself, something I rarely do. During the year, I feel like I am in nonstop motion, working, driving all over the state, studying, and being involved in my sorority. I cannot be alone in this situation, but this summer, I had the chance to do things for myself on my own time. Before May, I couldn't even remember the last time I took time out of my day to see a movie, but over the past few months, I was able to see several like "Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again" and "Oceans 8 " with friends I only get to see when I am home. Instead of cramming movies and lunch in during the middle of a busy week, I was able to devote time to catch up with friends and be fully engaged in what they were doing.

True, my Instagram feed was not filled with images of foreign countries or beach excursions, but summer is more than a simple photo. We need to escape from the mindset of "If you didn't take a photo did it really happen?" News flash, yes it did! I did not take a photo of myself while cleaning my room, organizing my closet or the A's I earned in my summer classes, but all of those events still happened. Try not to compare your experiences with your friends', in the end, it is your summer and you should live it and experience it the way you want.