When You’re At A Crossroads This Summer, Read This
Things to remind yourself when you’re unsure but ready this season
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I have a little secret to share.
Like most of us, when I was little, summer felt like freedom to me. The two-month period with no school, fun all day, and sleepless nights filled me with such imagination and possibility. The end of something longstanding and exhausting felt like we were rewarded.
When we were kids, we felt that we had earned the right to smile, relax and dream for every new day we got during the summer break. Every new day meant a new adventure and anticipation for what was to come when we’d return back to a steady routine.
But growing up, that same joy twists and changes — so much so until it is almost unrecognizable.
It becomes a joy we feel unworthy of, and a freedom undeserved.
To be completely honest, I’ve never thought of summer in this way until now. Being in my late twenties, rolling into July was simply just another month of doing (and enduring) the same pains. I’d expect the next six months of the year to be more or less the same, all while silently hoping that somehow it would be different —and feel different — by or after Christmas.
But looking back on the changes compared to last year, I realize that it’s not because those moments didn’t happen. It was because I didn’t take the time to celebrate them right as they had happened — right as they were changing.
If the earth can celebrate its seasonal changes, then why not us?
There is freedom in completed courses, farewells to instructors and classmates, and finally having your diploma in your hand.
This summer, I am celebrating my freedom from post-grad.
I am no longer a student bound by my academic responsibilities and co-op obligations. I am free from the pressure of assignment submissions and meeting course requirements. From class timetables and group meetings over projects.
Looking towards summer and beyond, you can be anything you want without your education being your entire identity.
