Summer is the time to live, feel free and grow as a person
“School’s out for Summer. Schoooool’s out FOREVER!!” I wish school was out forever sometimes, especially after a draining finals week; however, I love school. As much as I complain about lack of sleeping, homework, exams, etc., I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
As you might have known, I was an RA in Offenhauer this spring semester. It brought up several challenges but made me grow as a leader. I was busy all week doing checkouts for residents across the entire building. May 4 was VERY busy with most of our residents checking out that day. I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off (as my mom says) helping people. I was sweaty and nasty, and still had packing to do myself.
Friday finally calmed down, and I went to sleep early. The next morning, I had a long day packed with RA things. We had to clean and close the building, but we did enjoy a nice cookout together. I continued to pack my room up Saturday when I had free time. Saturday was the last night of me being an RA. It was a strange feeling, but I felt sad to be leaving all the great people I worked with. Sunday quickly came, and before I knew it, I was dismissed from the building and free to move out. Moving out took me a few hours, but I successfully moved everything into my apartment.
Even though Friday afternoon was exhausting with RA checkouts, the morning and early afternoon were great! I had a Student Tour Coordinator (STC) retreat for my job as a student manager of the tour guide program. We did a test called Strengths Finder. Basically, it is a 30- minute assessment that identifies your top five strengths. I did this about a year ago, and my top five were: Responsibility, Includer, Communication, Achiever and Developer.
After a year of school and some life-changing experiences, I have four new strengths!! They are Adaptability, Self-Assurance, Woo and Ideation. My “Includer” strength was also in my new top five. After researching each strength, it sums me up almost perfectly. I am a motivated individual who makes his own decisions. I live in the moment, respond well to change, like new ideas and I like interacting with all groups of people.
Now that summer is out, most college students will work and be lazy. I encourage you NOT to do this. The summer is the time to live, feel free and grow as a person. Oftentimes, students are not academically, mentally or emotionally prepared for the start of the fall semester. That is why it’s important to thrive during summer, not survive. This is the time to read more books, make a goal sheet, cross things off your bucket list. Whatever it may be, challenge yourself! Make a difference in yourself and be the change you want to be.
I have already added about 12 National Geographic Documentaries to my Netflix account, typed a list of 10 books I want to read, wrote a list of museums I want to visit, created a workout routine and planned a raw food diet with my roommate. These are just a few of my summer activities because I want to be ready for the first few weeks of the fall semester. I want to be academically ready and eager to learn instead of being the student that talks about summer for two months after it ends.
My advice to you is to do something that involves learning. Do something more than just watching TV and eating lots of ice cream (trust me, I love my ice cream, too). Get up off the couch and go adventure the woods, creek, or river. Face your fears. Thrive through summer not survive.
Until next time BG,
Mike