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Summer: To Break or Not To Break?

Kasey Friske

Summer is here! Suddenly you are faced with a decision: how do you want to handle your study schedule for the season? I know it can be a daunting decision to make, so here are a few things I wish I knew when I was tackling school during the summers while pursuing my degree.

You can take a break (yes, it’s allowed!).
When I hit summers, I felt like I had to continue, but it was SO HARD to keep pressing on when I was surrounded by sisters and friends on summer break. As a result, I half-heartedly worked on a couple of subjects and generally wasted time. It wasn’t true rest, but I wasn’t accomplishing anything either. If you need to take a break, give yourself permission to take a break. Set up a start and end date for your break, and then rest GUILT-FREE. Being Unbound means you can do school anywhere and anytime. But it also means you can rest and recharge anywhere and anytime. Sometimes rest can kick start productivity. If that’s you, then give yourself boundaries and enjoy!

You can use your summer to get ahead. Instead of taking a break like many college students, you can also use those extra few months to drive towards graduation. Somewhere halfway through my second summer as a college student, I realized that graduation wasn’t as far away as it seemed, and that moment of realization was all it took to light a spark in me. You can find that spark, too.

  1. Take a look at all you have left and make a challenging yet reachable goal. Maybe you want to be a Junior by the end of the year, or maybe you want to graduate at next year’s APEX. The goals are endless. Find the one you want that challenges you but is still possible.
  2. Find your “why”. Goals stick better when you’re aware of why you want them. Maybe you want to graduate before you turn  __  years old. Maybe there’s a job you want to focus on but need your degree completed first. Find your why and write it down. Then pull it out and use it to remind yourself why you’re doing what your doing when you get stuck.
  3. Start with some easier/interesting/quick credits and grab them up. Gaining momentum is key.
  4. Finally, do not underestimate the power of accountability through community. Jump in the Facebook group or join us at APEX and find some students who have similar goals and then hold each other accountable. Community not only drives productivity, but makes the journey SO MUCH BETTER.

If your desire is to give up what you want now for what you want MOST, then YOU CAN DO IT. Set those goals. Find that accountability. Whatever you do, make this the best summer yet.