Semester Ends and Summer Begins

Because of the pandemic, I can’t wait to have my college semester end. This feeling I have is by no means that I dread or hate school, but is more so for the fact that I have become a workaholic between work and school since the start of the pandemic of last year. By having my semester end, I am freeing up a lot of time during my week, that can be used for well – me. 

One of my New Year goals that I set for myself at the beginning of the year so to be more selfish (but the good kind of selfish). What this means, is that I need to understand what’s important to me in life, and choose opportunities and activities I want to do because I want to, not because someone else is making me feel obligated. So far, this has been very rewarding and I feel a lot happier. 

To be fair, I still have around three weeks until the semester ends, and unfortunately, one more semester in the fall left until I completely graduate. Although, I feel like I really deserve this summer vacation, and I plan to make the most out of it with the pandemic and vaccinations going on in the background as well. That being said, I started to make a list of everything I want to accomplish for my summer vacation in order to feel fulfilled. Typically my list includes places I want to go to, friends I want to see, and even skills or projects I want to work on. 

It’s okay to turn people down if it means your mental health will be able to improve, and it is totally fine to be selfish for your own sake, not even just summer vacation-wise, but all the time. We all need to take care of ourselves and do what we need to do to be happy, healthy, and the best we can be.

Have you ever practiced being selfish? How do you prioritize yourself? If you don’t, how do you think you can? What are your plans for this summer, and what are you doing for yourself during the time?