It’s May and we are all aware of what this month means for a lot of college students and professionals out there. Final projects, final exams and all of the work and school-related things are oftentimes coming to fruition during this month. In a lot of ways, the month of May does feel like a finish to something. Whereas June, which brings summer with it, feels like the start of something new (yes, that High School Musical song reference was totally intentional.) I’m sure you’ve been inundated with motivational content and well wishes lately (we all know the “finish strong!”) So don’t worry, that’s not what I’m here to talk about, and I know your time is valuable this month in particular so I’ll make this short.
Instead, let’s talk about something you may be looking forward to during this difficult time, summer. Even the word invokes the familiar smell of sunscreen and coconut. It’s safe to say summer can look much different than your normal routine throughout the rest of the year, whether you have the whole summer or just a few vacations sprinkled in here or there.
While summer can be a very promising thing, it can also be pretty upsetting when it doesn’t work out the way you pictured so perfectly in your head. I’ve definitely been guilty of placing a lot of expectations on summer, and then by the time the three months are over I feel very dissatisfied with how I spent that valuable time. So I’m here to make sure you don’t make the same mistakes.
Don’t get me wrong, you can certainly be excited about this summer, just don’t rob yourself of the joy when plans change or things don’t work out exactly as you thought. This could pertain to many instances, whether you had plans for a summer road trip or special vacation, a summer job or a career move, or the long list of summer reading and pool time you were going to accomplish. We often don’t realize the pressure we can put on ourselves even when it comes to a fun and relaxing time like summer, where we are supposed to be decompressing from all we went through the rest of the year. Unfortunately though, that self-inflicted pressure can come at any point in time if we let it. If you were to take anything away from this Self Care Sunday reminder, it’s to manage your expectations. If all you did this summer was binge a ton of romcoms without leaving bed, that still sounds like one heck of a summer. This is especially important when it comes to the elephant in the room, which we all know as social media. When you’re scrolling through people’s summer posts before you let that heavy feeling of comparison settle in, realize they’re not you, so of course, your summer isn’t mirroring theirs. Everyone is just doing what is right for them, and managing their expectations along the way when something they thought was right for them wasn’t!
If we manage our expectations in this next season of life, I promise the great moments will feel even better, and the unsure moments won’t be as daunting as you think. Either way, have a great summer, and save me some sangria by the pool!
