If the sentiments that my friends and I currently share are anything to go by, the idea of growing up is pretty unpopular at the moment. Ironically, we find ourselves looking forward, eagerly searching for experiences that do not end up wasting our time or effort, commodities we are learning to be ever more precious. Making the most of the summer, meanwhile, keeps us stepping towards that whole ‘growing up’ thing.
Be it the luxuriously elongated university kind, the brief stint on a package holiday or a few weeks away from work back home with family, a great holiday leaves us feeling refreshed and positive. However, it can also seem like a bit of a landmark. Sometimes the summer marks the beginning of our university years, a break before a graduate job or a breather following a tough time. But, how do we make the most of our time off?
Well, ticking off a few things from the bucket list might be a nice idea…
Travel – near or far. Not everyone has the money to dash off to Bali and spread photos across Facebook to make friends jealous. Live within your means but get away from your usual haunts. Sometimes it bursts the little bubble that we fill with day-to-day trivia.
Read – explore the places you can’t travel to. Since finishing university a few weeks ago, my friends and I keep talking about finally getting the chance to bury ourselves in a decent novel that isn’t prescribed by our lecturers. So you’ll find us in the sunshine with our heads in a literary cloud. Why not join us?
Write – a diary, even if you just write three sentences a day. It’s may be a cliché, but writing down our thoughts is top on the list of any psychologist’s advice on dealing with stuff we’ve been burying. If we want to grow as people then maybe summer is the time to reignite that
Move – even if it’s only to the end of the road. Never have we been more bombarded with ‘This Girl Can’ and been offered visions of pretty attractive gym-wear. Let’s enjoy the luxury of being fair weather runners or swimmers and make being healthy a regular part of our lives while we are young and have the flexibility of choosing our own schedules.
Volunteer – give up a bit of that precious time. Even if you just feel like running an errand for a neighbour or giving up a bit of time to help a family member sort out some filing in an office. The bigger the gesture the better. Even so, there is absolutely no point in doing something selfless when you’re reluctant to do it. But it is incredible what we learn about ourselves when we put others first…