If you are like me, you most probably have plans, dreams, aims – call them what you may – and you probably also consider yourself to be quite determined, driven, ready to soar over the clouds. But then, you probably haven’t done half the things you wanted to do this Summer. And if you’re thinking what I’m thinking, then you’re probably wondering why. Why haven’t I been able to do anything productive this Summer? Let us explore.
Summer, oh Summer! We long for Summer – we plan to do so many things, but most of the time we end up wasting it away. “I’ll have so much free time on my hands”, we think, “I’ll do so many things”, we say, “I can feel it, this year is going to be my year”, we lie. That’s right these are all lies. All of them Lies! Lies I tell you! (I bet you read that in an evil malicious voice).
Anyway, if you’re anything like me, and about to start university in a week’s time, and currently lying lazily on the sofa staring into oblivion waiting for something to happen, then you’ve probably just realized you’ve actually wasted your summer, done nothing productive, and funnily enough you simply cannot wait until you start lectures again. And if this article is not getting too boring, and you would like to discover the ugly truth behind our tragic situation, I invite you to consider the following reasons as to why we didn’t do what we planned to do this summer.
First of all, consider when you’ve actually been productive during summer in your life, if ever? I personally cannot think of a particular summer. My summers have either been a blast, full of fun and crazy shenanigans or boring and full of gloom. On some occasions I managed to bring “balance to the force(s).”
Second of all, be honest and ask yourself this question. How many times did you wake up early but… wait for it… didn’t go back to sleep? Also, considering that most of us work during summer to earn some cha-ching, how many of us have properly used our “off-days”? If you’re human like me, you probably haven’t.
Personally, one of the many things I am disappointed about is not being able to devour the beautiful stack of books that have been waiting for me since my exams back in June. I need a moment…
Ok I’m good. As I was saying, regardless of planning to read a ton of books this summer, I haven’t been able to do so. Following are the reasons I dwelled profoundly over and echoed repeatedly in my head in a poor attempt to heal my wounded heart, for "what wound did ever heal but by degrees?’ Oh Shakespeare, you so get me. Hopefully some of you can relate to me.
1. You’re always thinking: It’s TOO HOT to do anything.
2. You’re always doing something, even if you’re doing nothing, it’s still something. Yes nothing is “something” – it’s an argument that can hold.
3. You simply cannot concentrate because you’re too busy relaxing. Wait, what?
4. You go out for a couple of hours, and it feels like you’ve been stranded in the desert for a year and consequently abducted by aliens in order to use your body as an energy source to fuel their UFO. Bottom line: you feel completely drained.
5. You’re always thinking "I’m not focused enough; I’ll probably be more focused tomorrow’.
6. "I got plenty of time, it’s still the beginning of summer’. Well look again my friend, that’s right, you’re closer to the end of your glory summer days more than you are to your fridge.
7. "I’m always working, I deserve a break’. Yeah right, you know you’re going to beat yourself up after wasting hours of merely existing. Also, at this rate, you’ll end up becoming that parent who didn’t live up to his/her dreams, and so is consequently trying to live them through their children. Yes, that did just escalate quickly.
8. Last but not least, the mother of all lies: "I’ll do it when I start Uni’. Okay, I admire you, but I also think you watch too much Vampire Diaries. I mean seriously, THEY NEVER GO TO SCHOOL.
Doesn’t anyone find it weird how they keep graduating when they’re hardly ever at school?
Well unfortunately for us, after the first few months, we’ll be biting our nails trying to understand a word our super fast and witty lecturer is saying, and will probably be drowning in the sea of due assignments. Bottom line: we’re not superhuman. I think life would be much easier if we considered summer as any other semester, a slightly different one, of course, because we’re not expected to study and sit for exams, but other than that, it is still precious time which we should use effectively.
So next time you want to do something? Just DO IT!!! Get off your bum and stop coming up with God knows what excuses. You can be busy relaxing tomorrow. Before you know it you’re going to be old and cranky and married with 5 or 6 children whose grandchildren will be running around the house shouting your name every time they go to the loo so you can go clean them up. Think it’s ok to waste time now? Didn’t think so.