Summer was supposed to be your time to breathe. No alarms. No cold mornings. No heavy school bags. A time to do anything you put your mind to. A time to do nothing at all if that’s what made you happy. Sometimes, summer comes with its very own expectations. We feel like we have to fly around the country or even out of the country, meet up with friends and family all the time, pick up extra hours or classes, accomplish one or several personal goals and “glow up” all while expecting to stay refreshed for the coming academic year. Now, as August approaches its end, you need another vacation.
Just because you were sand deep into summer doesn’t mean your brain recovered from fall, winter or spring. Rest doesn’t mean recovery. You might’ve physically stepped out of the classroom or the crowded halls, but your mind may still be carrying its own book bag of deadlines, decisions, accumulated stress and any additional anticipated stress if you’re applying to graduate school. During the summer, you’re not operating as a “student.” You’re a friend, a family member, an athlete, an artist or whatever else you are. Then quickly, academics become a larger part of your identity and daily life again. You’re not just changing your schedule, you’re stepping back into an identity that comes with different expectations.
If your summer was packed with trips, social gatherings, helping out at home, your own routines and other responsibilities or just figuring out what to do next, your brain didn’t experience the “Ah, I feel free and relaxed” feeling one might think that it had. You can be miles away from school, offline from Canvas or any other educational platform that keeps you sweating at the edge of your seat for what grade you got. Could it be that summer feels like the A+ you wanted so badly and quickly dips into an F when fall starts?
You’re transitioning back to strict schedules, less freedom, more focus, more expectations and a whopping sleep schedule change. You might be eating later than you do now as you come home late, sleeping earlier to get to that 8 a.m. class, looking at your schedule to see when you have downtime or just living in the books, notes and screens. You might feel sluggish, have the urge to spend more or even less time in your social circles or feel unmotivated. This doesn’t mean something is wrong. It’s just taking some time to allow your mind and body to go back to school mode. We might not even think of this as an actual reason, but sometimes, we are simply sad that something we enjoyed is coming to an end.
We may even hold odd personal expectations for ourselves, thinking that if we didn’t accomplish the goals we intended for ourselves or experience summer the way others do, we are a failure. Every effort is an effort. Silence or stillness does not mean you have failed or that you are behind. These simply mean that you listened to your body and took a smaller step than someone else who might be grinding on the surface and draining on the inside.
Whether you’ve started a couple of days ago or are just about to begin, shifting routines happen gradually and you can’t force changes overnight without exhausting yourself. Your brain needs time to catch up just like you do, too. Part of your exhaustion may be coming from feeling like you must be up and rolling overnight. Summer gave you permission to slow down, but now fall is asking you to get back on the highway. You don’t have to wake up on the first day all ready to take on the semester or quarter. Give yourself permission to find comfort in the in between.
