Summer as a college student is often a mix of emotions. On one hand, you get a break from all of the classes, school work, exams, and much more stress. You also get to go home and see your family after what may have been a long time apart and maybe even get some home-cooked meals out of it.
It can also be a sad time, though. After spending nearly every day living and being with all of your best friends, you now are separating for what could be three very long months. Waking up for classes may become waking up for a summer job after going through the hassle of finding one and you have to get used to being under mom and dad’s rules again.
With all of this being said, it’s important to make the best of summer break while you can—because before you know it you’ll be wishing you didn’t have to order your textbooks and move back in already.
One of the most important things to do when you first get home for the summer is have a real discussion with your parents/guardians. Know the rules and what might have changed since you haven’t been living at home. Respect the fact that they might not want you sauntering into the house at 3 in the morning as you may have done with your dorm room … this quick talk will make the rest of the summer much less stressful!
Another thing you’ll want to do as soon as possible is unpack! Trust me, you don’t want to be living out of your car or garage for the next three months. Your life will be much easier and you will feel way more at home by simply taking a few hours to get your life reorganized. I went through my first summer at home without about half of my wardrobe because it was tucked away in some bag I never bothered to unpack—trust me on this one.
Lastly, you’ll want to unwind. This is natural especially if you’ve had a stressful last few weeks with finals and readjusting from life on campus. However, don’t take too long to relax all the time, you’ll get bored much more quickly than you think! Give yourself about a week of doing nothing and you don’t know how quickly you’ll be cleaning the house just because you’re bored.
Make plans, enjoy yourself, work and make money for the upcoming year, get an internship, start going to the gym! Summer is the best time to better yourself and get ready for the next year of classes because you’ll find you tend to have much more free time. Don’t spend the whole summer binging on Netflix, get outside! Don’t push things off because before you know it, your free time will be gone and you’ll be back to work by the end of August!