Summer Reflections as School Begins

With summer receding and school resuming, a lot of new approaches to the year are transforming. Fresh faces are emerging in classrooms and adjustments are taking place. Goals are being established and so are expectations. The shift from the complete and total freedom of summer, to a distantly familiar routine can be challenging with sleep schedules in disarray. 

However, there are several positive factors that come hand-in-hand as a grade older. A new school year means a blank slate to start over. It means another chance at creating a successful year. It means bettering yourself or just simply enjoying the present. Whether that may be taking up a new sport or joining a club at school, the opportunities seem overwhelmingly endless in this point in time. Friendships are rekindled from the three-month break as everyone plays catch up with one another. And as sporting events start evolving again, the student spirit rises, and it’s an exciting welcome back from everyone’s summer adventures. With the seasons changing, so are we. Getting back into the swing of things comes as one big blur for the first few weeks until tests are administered and agendas are being filled.

What always helps me become leveled in all of the frenzy is getting organized and recognizing where I am now, and where I want to be. Visualization and an action plan are the recipes of success in achieving your school year goals and projecting the intended outcome. Spend time with loved ones and embrace that “I can do anything!” feeling that makes you feel on top of the world when there is a new year with plentiful open doors. Sometimes, we lose ourselves staring at closed doors that we should have left the year before. But now is the time to acknowledge the beauty of what is ahead instead of focusing on what may be holding us back.

Release yourself and let yourself enjoy this entire year for what it is. I know that as a senior, I will be doing exactly that. Not taking one single thing for granted.