Having woken up at noon and nursing a cup of coffee, I partake in the obligatory morning scroll through multiple social media platforms. I open LinkedIn as a perfunctory practice and, although determined not to compare myself to the grandiose achievements of others, I read through the multiple posts of friends and classmates, who are seemingly doing several internships, research projects and publishing articles. When I move over to Instagram and see the same people somehow going on countless holidays, to concerts, and hanging out with their friends too, I wonder, am I doing something wrong? Am I wasting my summer? Suddenly, the four-week-long internship I was so proud to have done seems insignificant when facing the fact that I am spending the remainder of my summer relaxing at home and hanging out with friends and family. We must ask ourselves, when did summer stop being something to look forward to, and turn into an extension of the stress we face during college? Now, instead of worrying about exams, we concern ourselves with how to make the most of our “vacation”. But is the pressure of having a perfect summer not actually ruining our summers?
We all remember how summer felt like as kids and teenagers – anxiously waiting for the last day of school to come, when we felt like the three upcoming summer months would be filled with endless possibilities. Yet, we would simply spend them doing things that made us happy – going on bike rides with friends and playing in the nearest playground as kids, which eventually turned into hanging out with them as teenagers, until curfew. Somewhere along the way, these happy moments turned into internships, summer jobs, miraculously curing cancer in the span of a few months, or planning our entire future. Where did this mindset come from? I doubt any of us thought that enjoying our summers in high school would lead to us never getting into college.
“Even then, we probably feel pressured to post what we are doing and seeing. After all, did you even do it if you didn’t post it on Instagram?”
The pressure to utilise our summer, leaving no second too idle, is not only related to the possible impact it can have on our future careers. What we see online influences how we think an ideal summer should look like too! “Euro summer” spent island-hopping in Greece, drinking Aperol spritz on an incredibly aesthetic beach in Italy, maybe even backpacking across Asia, are only some of the things we see upon opening TikTok or Instagram. Girls are dressed in the latest trends, wearing different bikinis every day, posing on beaches bragging about eating pasta regularly, while everyone knows it is impossible to look a certain way if the only thing one eats is carbs. Seeing this online makes many of us think, how is this possible? Many of us are lucky enough if we get to travel for a whole month during summer, let alone three. Even then, we probably feel pressured to post what we are doing and seeing. After all, did you even do it if you didn’t post it on Instagram?
As I ponder this, I realise I definitely did not meet the expectations of what a summer should look like: I only went on two trips, did one summer internship, and posted on Instagram once. As I write this, I realise how silly it sounds to someone less lucky than I am, my summer might seem like it was perfect – and it was! We could all do with learning something from our younger selves when it comes to summer. Of course, regressing to our childhood mentality is not practical in most cases, but here it seems appropriate. When I think back upon what I wanted from my summer after walking out from my last exam in May, I realise it is exactly this: to dedicate time to friends and family I do not see for 9 months of the year, spend time outside and read books I had not had time for during college. Before spending too much time on social media, this would have been my idea of a perfect summer, and I now realise it still is. If there is one thing you can take from this article, it is this: even if you might have felt like your summer was inadequate up till now, we still have a whole month left before we get back into the grind, and I highly recommend you spend it reading, relaxing and soaking up some last rays of sunshine!
