Throughout the first two months of summer break, the only two things that I had truly discovered about myself was that I am a complete "Bachelorette" junkie (Robby should have won), and I definitely cannot cook for the life of me. Point being that working 40 hours a week makes it hard to have much of a social life this past summer.

Along with my crazy work schedule, I have also had many restless nights after work where I would just lay there in the midst of watching vines contemplating life and all the ups and downs I have had. I had a good amount of time to think. When late July/August came around, I was dealing with a lot of stress-inducing situations I finally had time to sit down and try to find the positives in life. I had a million and one thoughts I was dealing with. Even if some of my random thoughts didn't necessarily describe any events that were happening at that time, I knew that I had struggled with each and every one of them at some point in my life. I guess it was time to face the facts of it all.

Unfortunately this summer has been a roller coaster ride of emotions. However, the one upside is that I have learned so much within the past month, and I get to share it with you guys!

First and foremost:

1. Having multiple girl nights are OK; the FOMO will end, I promise you.

Throughout the summer, I have been in the 21 club, so of course, I had to get my fair share of Long Islands and plenty of nights out with my friends. However, as things started to go downhill, and I started to go out more to wash away my problems, I started to realize that I was growing distant from other close friends because they either had a hectic work schedule or were cursed with a late birthday. I have realized that sometimes staying home and having a chill night is what I have needed the most in my life at this time. Not just going out and forgetting your problems, but letting them out and confronting them is the winning answer.

After dealing with these high-stress situations, I, of course, noticed a week before school starts that I wish I had stayed home more and relaxed. Obviously, I wish I had figured that out sooner. Instead of going out past 2 a.m., I wish I had spent at least half of my nights staying in talking about life with my friends. Maybe my anxiety would have simmered down a bit.

2. Breakups happen, and grieving must be a part of it.

Of course breakups are going to happen throughout college; it's life. However, when people say that you got to keep busy in order to distract yourself is when a problem comes into play.

Throughout my relationships, I have realized that if you jam pack your day with constant activity, you will never have time to process what happened and to truly feel your emotions. If you keep pushing your emotions to the side, you will never truly get over it.

If you have to cry, then do it. Sob like a baby and eat a tub of ice cream by yourself. I would. Well, for me it's more of eating a bag of hot Cheetos and watching Justin Bieber videos. Again, my point that I am trying to make is to let your emotions out freely. Always be in touch with your emotions because that is all a part of you.

3. Don't lose sight of who you truly are.

I know this sounds pretty obvious, but we still need to hear it more often. I feel like as girls, it's hard to move past our terrible mistakes that we have made such as hurting a friend or loved one because we don't want that to represent us. We don't want to be known as a liar, a cheater, a manipulator, etc. our whole life. We don't want people to label us as "that girl."

However, what most of us forget to remember is that our mistakes do not define who we are. We are still young, intelligent, smart women who live and learn from our mistakes and use them later on in life in order to grow from them. When mistakes happen and you feel ashamed, just know that these slip-ups aren't a part of you but are simply just situations that you learn and flourish from.

4. Do things that make you happy.

Again, it seems like such a simple statement. However, let me ask you this: Is there anything that you really enjoy doing but somehow "cannot find the time for?" I used to think that all the time with such a busy work schedule and all. However, I have now noticed that during high-stress times, doing something you really enjoy makes your thoughts make more sense, and you are able to calm down and reorganize your thoughts. Therefore, when you go back into your busy day, you have a clearer mind.

Finding something that brings you joy can really benefit you in the long run. We need to stop saying we can't find the time and just make time. Our mental health is more important than we think. And we need to act on it!

5. Try to see a bright side to the negative situations.

When we come across situations that upset us, it's hard for us to understand that any good can come from it. However, taking some time to think of some positives that can come out of a bad situation can help you lessen your anxiety and have a better outlook on life. One of my favorite examples of this would be experiencing a breakup with someone you love. Maybe the right person hasn't come into your life yet. Or maybe all you need is some time to learn more about yourself before you can truly be with each other.

Another example could be having the passing of a loved one. Of course, when someone who was close to you passes away, almost no one can see a bright light. When one of my high school friends passed away a few years ago in a motorcycle accident, I had the exact same thought.

However, when I truly tried to think of anything positive, all I saw was darkness. However, after some weeks of coping, I thought that maybe his passing was a reminder to many of us to live life to the fullest because you never know when your last day will be. Even just that little positive thought made me smile a bit, knowing that my friend made such an impact on all of our lives because it taught us to not be afraid to fully live life.

Yes, that last example seemed very drastic from the first. However, it just goes to show that positivity can be found in almost anything if you really push your mind to find it.

Yes, I know this article was throwing out random advice about different things; however, that is how I intended it to be. This summer made me think about many aspects of my life and helped me push through my anxiety, being able to accept and better myself and to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

I guess my summer was more productive than I thought.