Summer days come like that exciting TV episode that you’ve so long-awaited for, saying goodbye to all the deadlines, the planning, all of those afternoons spent at the library trying to concentrate and “study”. You forget about those nights when you went out and were counting the hours left until you had to go to an early-morning lecture, you forget. About the schedules, the commitments and the stressing over what food-like creation you can come up with next when the only thing left in your pantry are baked beans and instant soup and that trip to the grocery store is way overdue.
Summer comes as a fresh promise of freedom, fun and relaxing days, whether it is spent back home with friends and family, travelling around the globe or perhaps working or experiencing something new. Slowly the days seem fewer, and before you know it, September is right around the corner, and it is time to go “back”.
Back to your studies, your part-time job and fending for yourself in terms of cooking, cleaning, and making sure you get a decent amount of sleep. But it is also going back to seeing friendly faces and catching up with classmates and friends. Back to new opportunities, with a chance to be better, to be bolder, to be the best version of yourself. Whether that includes joining a new club or society, talking to that person you’ve been eyeing out since 1st year or working on succeeding at organising your studies. It is a time to turn a new page, and take it all in, for when people say “University days can be the best of your life” they forget to mention that it’s up to you to take a chance, head to that party you were nervous about going, say no for a change and do what is best for you and start checking the boxes on your personal goals for the year.
So, when it’s time for me to board that plane with destination Scotland, I’ll be reflecting on all these things, and I invite you to do too.
By: Conchita Fraguas Bringas