10 Ways to Enjoy The Last Month of Summer

Hi friends,

Hope everyone’s enjoying their Tuesday! I’m hungry, and I think I’m going to go eat yogurt when I get home from school (I really like the Chobani Flip Cups. Key Lime is my favorite. If you haven’t tried it, you should. They’re fun and delicious). Besides yogurt, here’s what else has been on my mind:

I was thinking today. You know what people love? Lists. Holy cow, we LOVE lists. I mean I love lists. So, I made one that will help you make the rest of summer good as h*ck.

If you’re like me, you’re in a weird season of life. Half of your friends have adult jobs, a quarter of them are still in school, and a quarter are just trying to figure out that awful post-grad-pre-job gray area. Some of us have a free summer, some of us don’t. I did my best to make this applicable for all my people, do with it what you will.

1. Get the rest you need 

When I first started this point, I WAS going to say that you should get up early, and go to bed early. But, you know, it’s summer, who cares? Pick and choose when you sleep, and enjoy that. Just keep in mind that the less sleep you get, the less you’ll want to do the next day.

2. Sunscreen

My mom is going to be so happy that I put this on my list. Y’all. SUNSCREEN IS SO IMPORTANT. Your moisturizer that has SPF 15, IS NOT ENOUGH. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we love to be tan, I get it. But, come on, let’s love our future selves, and wear some sunscreen. This one is my favorite. It’s oil free, and doesn’t feel greasy at all. I have super sensitive skin that breaks out all the time, but it doesn’t irritate my skin at all.

3. Limit phone time

This honestly can be applied to anytime of the year, not just the summer. We are chained to our phones, and if you haven’t noticed- it’s kind of draining. Never have I ever spent an hour on my phone, and then feel re-energized. I’m not saying delete your social media, throw your phone in the ocean, and get a Nokia. I’m just saying to be conscious of the time that you spend on it. I get lost in my Facebook feed, until I find that I’m going through the comment section of my friend from high school’s brother’s post on how he enjoyed the new Spider-Man movie- like, WHERE IS THE VALUE? It’s a black hole. Be conscious of it.

4. Take a mental health day

I know that not everyone is on summer break right now. Lots of us are doing our summer jobs, going to school, or straight up doing career stuff (y’all are the real MVPs). But, mental health days are important for everyone- and I’m not talking about when you get off of work, or get home from school. I’m saying to take a Sunday, and purposely rest. When I say purposely rest, I mean that you don’t get to “fake” rest. Fake resting, is when you’re home, and “resting” but not really resting. You’re cleaning the kitchen, answering emails, doing laundry, making important phone calls- that is fake resting. Purposely rest. Do things that bring you peace. Watch your shows, read a book, paint, write, whatever.

5. Be intentional with your time

If you’re in my shoes, this might be your last year of school approaching. Fill your time with things you know you will remember. In five years, the stories you’ll want to be telling to your friends and family about your past summer days will be ones that revolve around things like the time that you and your friends randomly decided to drive to San Antonio for the day, get margaritas on the river walk, and chase ducklings- not the afternoons you spent binge watching The Office (not knocking binge watching. It’s good for the soul sometimes. See #4). Create memories.

6. Tackle the big and the little things

There are projects that you don’t often have a chance to do when the fall begins. Take something on that’s been sitting on your Pinterest board for years. Make the bookshelf, re-organize your cookbooks, stain the dresser. Also, think about the thing that you need to do, that isn’t necessarily “dire”, but needs to get done at some point. That thing you’re thinking of? Sorry, but, you gotta do it. Clean out your closet, toss out the mis-matched Tupperware, throw away the pointless papers that are collecting in that one drawer in your kitchen. It’s cleansing, and you’ll love yourself after you do it.

7. Take. Pictures.

This is a given. But, something I’ve recently been horrible about is not taking pictures. A part of me thinks that it’s because I feel silly sometimes, like, “Come on, Tori, just enjoy the moment-” But, honestly, taking pictures is huge. But on those mom-pants, and get obnoxious about taking photos; your friends will thank you too. Just be sure to print them out. Get a photo album, label it whatever you want. You’ll be happy you have it later.

8. Go on walks

Walks are really nice. Yesterday my guy and I went on a walk around the baseball fields that are by our apartments, and it was dreamy. The sun was setting, we found three baseballs, he saved a dove that was caught in a batting cage net (biggest heart eyes ever), and he picked me a flower. I’ve found that when I go on walks with anyone, I have the best conversations. Do it with your roommates, your dog (who will love you even more), whoever. It’s such a nice way to spend time with people. Also, how often does someone ask you to go on a walk? It’s kind of random, but imagine getting a text like that. Be that person for someone.

9. Look into your local events 

Whether you know it or not, there are definitely things going on around your town/city. Farmers markets are the coolest, and flea markets are iffy- but make for good memories. You don’t even have to stay in your city limits, take a look to see what’s going on around you. Take a day trip with your friends to a city that’s two hours from you, and go to whatever random festival they’re having. I doubt you’ll regret it.

10. Create a tradition

Traditions have to start at some point, so why not? If you’ve already done something this summer that you just loved- make it a tradition. Whether it’s going to the beach for the weekend with the same group of people, the river, or just eating at a random restaurant that you fell in love with. Make it a thing.

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Okay, cool. You have, like, 30 days to do all of this.

Just kidding.

But, try and do at least two of these things. I can guarantee that you’ll enjoy these sweet summer days more.

Please wear sunscreen.

Also wash your face.

Let your hair go natural- it’s good for it!!

Okay, that’s all.

Wait, one more thing.

Love yourself.

-Tori