Summer is the time to relax, have fun, recover and enjoy yourself. However, you may see your peers studying abroad or starting an internship, or see them in an entirely different country having the time of their life on vacation; and you can’t help but think “that must be nice”.  There is nothing wrong with aspiring to make the same type of moves or put yourself in similar positions, but do not feel as if you need to be in those positions to be happy or productive.

Everybody has a different life for a reason. That is because you were not meant to do the same things or be the same as anyone else. Someone you know might be doing something that you want to do, but are they doing what you personally need to do? Most of the time they are not, and only you know exactly where you need to be and what you need to be doing.

Take the time to sit back and reflect on what you should be doing and what is good for not only your future but your mental and physical health. Studying abroad may seem fun and exciting but you spent the previous years taking classes year round with no break and need to take time for your mental health. An internship looks good on your resume and will help you, but there are other summers for that, and you may not even need an internship right now anyways. Traveling the country or the world is exciting to think about, but may be difficult due to financial standing which is why you’re working a job or two this summer. What do you NEED to be doing right now? That’s what you need to focus on, not what others are doing.