What I want to work on and improve before going into my senior year of college
Wrapping up my junior year of college and approaching my final summer of my academic career has been weighing on my mind recently. As I reflect on my college experience there are a few things that I think I can do over the summer that will help me make sure that I thrive in my senior year. As we all know old habits die hard, and good routines take weeks if not months to become second nature. I am hoping to use the next few months to make healthy and positive changes in my life in order to set myself up for a happy and healthy senior year of college.
- Prioritizing my health in a non-restrictive way
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The first thing I want to work on this summer is putting my health first, meaning both physical and mental health. I think a few things I really want to try to get into this summer in regards to my physical health are walking, yoga and cycling. Walking is such an easy thing to do around Madison, and there are a ton of yoga and cycling studios that my friends and I have been talking about checking out. I think summer is the perfect opportunity to get into the habit of moving my body and find something that works best for me that will make me feel my greatest. I also want to go to the farmers market more often and incorporate fresh, local produce into my diet. Lastly, I want to make sure that I am checking in with myself and my mental health more often. As I am sure many people relate, my mental health tends to get worse when school is in session while trying to balance my academic, working and a social life. So, I am hoping with the academic part on pause over the next few months, I can create some healthy habits and coping skills that I can carry over into my senior year in order to have better mental health during school.
- Read more
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I got into this habit last summer, but as we all know school sucks up our free time and I fell out of it as academics picked up again in the fall, so I am hoping to reignite my love for reading over the summer and make it a habit to read at least a few pages every day. I also have not stopped buying or being gifted books since last summer so I have a laundry list of novels to get through this summer.
- Prioritize getting outside
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Summers in Madison are beautiful and there are so many places on campus to appreciate nature. Things I want to do at least once (but hopefully more than once) are walk through the Arboretum, bike to Picnic Point to tan and swim, and sit on Bascom Hill, Library Mall and the Kohl Center lawn as much as possible to soak up the vitamin D and all of the happiness that warmth and sunshine bring in the summer.
- Deep clean my space
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I am a pretty clean person but I still feel like I hold onto things that clutter my space. I really want to go through the things I own before the end of the summer and cut it down to just the things that I actually use and need in order to keep a clear space and mind. I am also moving into a slightly smaller room in August so I want to make sure that that space is not cluttered with things that are no longer serving me.
- Think about my purchases, especially clothes!
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With Amazon Prime and being able to have clothes shipped to your door, I feel like online shopping has a choke hold on me. This summer I want to prioritize saving my money by cutting down on impulse purchases and really think about the items I’m buying and if they are going to provide temporary happiness or if they will actually better my life or make it easier in some way. I am hoping to build more of a “capsule wardrobe” which means investing in pieces that are both timeless and my style, while also being high enough quality that they will last me a few years. This means that some of these purchases are going to be more expensive but hopefully will be worth it in the long run. This will also help me avoid the previously mentioned clutter in number four!
- Travel out of Madison more often
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This includes going home and going to places around the state (and maybe even the country). Although I only live 30 ish minutes from Madison I was only able to make it home twice this semester, and both times it was only for a day because of how hectic my schedule has been, so I really want to make it a priority to go home as much as possible this summer and spend time with my family. I also want to travel around Wisconsin this summer. My family already has an entire week set aside in July to go up north to my Grandpa’s cabin which I am really looking forward to and I am hoping to make it to SummerFest in Milwaukee, and maybe a few other places around the state as well. I also am hoping to go to Lollapalooza in Chicago this summer and my friends and I even briefly talked about a trip to Colorado. I think putting experiences with friends and family at the top of my list of priorities this summer will help me to feel more connected to everyone in my life through fun summer memories. It is also hard to travel during the school year so I want to use this time where my only responsibility is work to make weekend trips and have a few weeks off to travel!
By prioritizing these things, I think I will truly be manifesting and creating a hot girl summer. I really want to put myself first and make fun memories while also getting my life together and creating habits that will hopefully carry over into my senior year of college and make for a happy, healthy and organized final year at UW-Madison!