"What are your plans for the summer?"
I look up from my inefficient packing and see my hallmate standing in the doorway. As I stared at my cluttered floor scattered with two suitcases, random Tupperware, and notebooks, I realized I wanted to merely catch a break. An actual break where I don't have to check my calendar and plan out my day to the minute. I had been on automatic for the past four months systematically studying and trying to survive the semester, I wanted to ignore my schedule for a bit.
This question always makes me feel that I must urgently fill up the void that is forming if I don't respond immediately. It is the irrational thought that if I don't answer now, I will have no plans at all. I often feel like I always have to be doing something. I must have weekend plans and busy myself with a social event. Availability invites pressure to do everything, say yes, and rush to fill in the empty time slots on my Google calendar.
By all means, it is excellent to have plans.
It is great to know what you are going to be doing on a specific day and it gives you something to look forward to everytime you check the date.
On the other hand, I feel like it is unnecessary to always fill your day with events back-to-back.
Allowing myself to enjoy my summer rejuvenates me for the upcoming year. The extra time lets me to be more creative without deadlines or a structure around classes. My life won't be extremely spontaneous, but the extra time grants me the opportunity to explore topics or interests I would probably keep pushing aside for mandatory work.
Rather than plan out every detail of my summer in advance, I want to live each day as its own. The overarching plans, like a vacation or an internship, are definitely worthwhile, but those days where the day guides me instead of me seizing the day, are quite memorable.
I remember the few days before high school graduation. I was mostly at home by myself, and after a week my mom asked me if I was bored since I wasn't in school. I found out I wasn't bored because I had time to experiment with new recipes or write something that wasn't for a grade. It was around this time that I found out I wanted to make writing in a journal habitual. I enjoyed the time it gave me to relfect. Without plans, I discovered what I wanted to do and why, not that I was doing something to take up the time.
Save a few days in the year to sit back and "go-with-the-flow." You can learn a lot about yourself. Sometimes you have to plan those unplanned days.
