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Summer Images – Unsplash.com
Introduction
Many people spend their summers differently. Some spend it having fun with friends, others spend it scrolling on their phone and mindlessly doing nothing, others spend it looking at new colleges and even participating in internships, while others might research the college of interest and see what it takes to get it.
Don’t get me wrong, some of those are absolutely great. You should, without a doubt, be taking a look at what colleges or career pathway to get yourself into. If anything, you should be prioritizing that over anything at this time.
Summer is a lot of time to do anything you want, so it means a lot. You could go ahead and just waste it all, or actually make use of it and contribute significantly towards your future.
Today, we’re going to be investing how YOU can spend your summer better than everyone else, and actually make a difference in your future.
Don’t Be Fooled
College is a pathway that many people follow and decide to take because they believe it’s the right path for them. But, really ask yourself: “Do I really want to do this?”
You might sacrifice your sanity, financial well-being, social circle, physical health, and even lifespan for those few years that you spend in college. Poor sleep, drinking, mindless hours studying, and countless hours slaving away for a dream that you aren’t sure is something you want to pursue is risky. Make a decision that is sensible and makes sense to you.
At the end of the day, when you’re 80 years old, sitting down, and just reflecting on life, what are some things that you want to be able to look back on? Memories of you slaving away for a cause that you could care less about for awful pay, or memories of you fulfilling your life’s dreams and working a job that you adore?
Recently, I uncovered the truth about who I wanted to be. For the longest time, I never legitimately questioned if if college made sense to go. I always agreed with my parents, saying that college was necessary for me to grow, for me to get a job that paid well, and for me to thrive in the current economy. But, you see, that’s the trick that everyone slaps you with. The saddest part? They truly believe in what they say.
Your parents, teachers, siblings, friends, classmates, and even internet influencers tend to all believe the same ideology; that college will get you out of the rough spot you’re currently in, and will lead you to a life of financial freedom.
What Do You Really Work For?
Most of us work for happiness, money, and purpose. That’s the reason why close to all of us are fueled to get at it everyday, even if it sucks. That’s why you need to ask yourself: what is your end goal?
Is your goal to get paid handsomely? Is it to be happy and work wherever you want, whenever you want? Or is it to finally achieve what you were meant for, and make your parents and everyone around you proud?
I never really questioned what my parents, or what the people around me fed me. I always accepted it; that college was a must for success, and to get to the place I wanted to get to; a place defined by happiness, financial prosperity, and fulfillment. At the end of the day, that’s what we’re ultimately working for.
Connecting back to the topic of the section earlier, if you are doing something productive and useful with your time spent leveling up and achieving the job of your dreams; be sure to understand if college or any type of formal, traditional education is necessary.
The truth is, you might not need to attend college for what you’re looking for. Close to two years ago, I discovered computer science and the field of software engineering; finding it to be extremely interesting. SO, as you can probably imagine, I spent that summer learning just one programming language, trying to master my skills with it.
What I can tell you for sure is that I didn’t learn anything, but what really matters here is that the next summer that followed; I tried it again. And within the span of a few weeks, I was able to learn several languages within the span of a month. (5-7; forgot the exact number).
Point is
I was told ever since I got into programming that I needed to attend formal education (college) to actually land a software engineering job. That’s what I was told repeatedly. And guess what? They couldn’t be more wrong. I learned all the languages that I ever wanted to learn, and so quickly. I mastered the basics, the intermediate stuff, the advanced stuff, literally everything that the programming language offered.
College is probably not necessary for the field of study that you’re pursuing. If anything, it might not even help you. Chances are, it’ll probably end up wasting your time; and by the end, you’ll have realized that you really invested all that time into a program that threw all your investment into the garbage.
Unless you’re someone that’s interested in becoming an engineer, doctor, or lawyer, you probably don’t need college. It could help, I won’t deny that. But I also won’t sit here and tell you that college will guarantee you any job at all, because as sad as it seems, it doesn’t work like that.
Only college grads can have career success, says one fifth in US
How To Reach A Decision (that makes sense to you)
You’re going to be fed a lot of BS online. People will set there and tell you that college is necessary, while others won’t and some will even advise against going. But, the reality is that some people actually should go to college, while others shouldn’t.
An important lesson that I learned is this: Look around. Focus on the people that have degrees, and have graduated from college. Are they rich? Are they financially free? Or are they still struggling just like everyone else, just slightly less?
Question everything that enters you ears. Ultimately, colleges exist for a reason. They only accept students because they believe they’ll get something out of it. Your goal is to uncover what they want from you really, and discover if that’s worth your mental sacrifice by any means. If you truly believe that you’re worth something, then you’d take time to discover what they’re really looking from you.
Take your future career into account, alongside your interests, financial goals, and others hopes. Below is a video that I recommend watching if you have still have no clue as for how to decide. Don’t believe me.
You Are Part Of The 99%
If you’re deciding to take action now, and in attempt to make something of your summer, some people online will convince you that you’re “ahead of 99% of people”. But, are you really ahead by that large of a margin? No, you’re not.
It might make you feel good, but you aren’t ahead by that much. Plenty of other students are also taking action and doing something about their future, in attempt to build a successful future. What’s true is that 99% of people don’t really know what they want, or really should be doing for their own good. That’s a guarantee.
Of course, don’t let that demotivate you. You might not be ahead, but it doesn’t mean you’re behind. As long as you’re taking action to make something of yourself, and are actually aware of your future and who you wish to become, then you’re on the right path.
The Formula To A Great Summer
A great summer for me consists of the following elements:
- High levels of productivity at all times
- Various major goals set and accomplished
- Significant steps taken to reach ultimate goal after high school (job, schooling, other motivation)
- Successful in studying, pursuing, and researching a passion of mine
- Time spent having fun
As you can probably see, it’s fairly simple. Your summer should be spent productively, but it should also be spent having fun and really enjoying and cherishing your childhood.
Balance: Matters More Than You Think
Every person should use their summer to chase an ultimate goal of theirs, no matter what. You might be working a part-time job this summer, but that’s no excuse. You might be on vacation for over a month, where there’s no internet, but that’s no excuse.
Ultimately, you should be dedicating every minute that’s unoccupied (doesn’t include mindless scrolling + dopamine feeding of course) to a productive and beneficial habit that’ll shape your future and persona within the next few years. When you leave high school, you should be aware of what you want to do. Many influencers online say that you don’t need to know what you want to pursue; but if you follow that advice, you’ll end up in as deep of a rabbit hole as they dig, with close to no way of digging yourself out.
The years after high school are some of the most important because they are what’ll shape the next few decades, or even the rest of your life on Earth. Wasting even a minute of that time still deciding what job or field you want to pursue is unacceptable. You have plenty of time now, so if there’s anything you could be doing, it’s this.
Why Balance Matters
So now, balance. For those of you who do believe in the idea of working hard and spending every minute productively, I’m going to say something slightly contradicting. That’s to lay off the computer, your pen, and your working mindset.
Take a break, and breath some fresh air. There are a small handful of you out there (I sure know that I was apart of that category last year) that just work themselves to the point where others question if there’s something wrong with them. That’s where I tell you that you are totally fine, and shouldn’t change anything about yourself, except the fact that you aren’t enjoying yourself enough.
I know. I know.
But, here’s the truth: When high school is over, do you really want to look back on your high school years and have nothing to actually look back upon?
Sure, you might have memories of you grinding and working 24/7. But let’s be honest, when I say memories, I mean legitimate memories of you enjoying your childhood, high school years; and carefree era where the only responsibilities you had were in school (which mean close to nothing in retrospect).
Pro Tip: Relax. Have some fun. Enjoy these years while they last because they won’t last forever. There are a majority of people out there that would give back anything to get access to the young years that you’re experiencing right now. Just don’t overdo it of course.
Memory Images – Unsplash.com
Conclusion
Summer is a time for you to maximize your time, and for you to enjoy every single minute while it lasts simultaneously. I was lucky enough to know this at the time, and know this now, so I hope that you are too. Thanks for reading.
