Talking time to quiet your surroundings and focus on your thoughts is really important. Especially when we students are transitioning from summer mode to school. Today you will learn why it’s important to reflect and the most efficient and effective ways to start. Later, I share two times I reflected this summer, once at the beginning and once at the end. Grab your choice of coffee or tea and enjoy!
WHY reflect?
To take a step back and process how you felt in your past and to look into the future
To give yourself time to acknowledge experiences and set expectations
To help you refresh and refuel and gain clarity
To enable yourself of events that happened in your life and how that affects your present self.
HOW can I start reflecting?
Make a gratitude list of things you’re grateful for
Journal freely or use prompts. If you’re looking to buy a guided journal, I suggest the Five Minute Journal.
Write down how you’re feeling in a notes document. This is my personal favorite because it’s not staring at you to write in it every day, yet it’s always there when you need it.
Take time to sit down with your thoughts and listen to them. Notice your self-growth and progression. Realize what you want to improve on in your academics, social or family life, hobbies, passion projects, or businesses.
My summer in reflection:
July 11, 2020
This year I finally understood the reality that there are always opportunities at closed doors. At the beginning of the quarantine, we all stayed home. The governors kept pushing back the at homestay orders, and I (as many other people) became worried about one special summer tradition, overnight camps. Would they open or close? This will be my last summer as a camper and my 8th summer. I wasn’t ready to let this summer be canceled.
At a similar time, I got a call from a family that I babysit for. They started telling me about this grassroots idea of creating a backyard camp and asked me if I would be interested in launching it and running the program. I said yes, and the photo in the top left is one of the groups. This seemed like the PERFECT fit, worse comes to worst, I wouldn’t be allowed to go back to my overnight camp, but I could still lead a camp, be with kids, and learn more than I ever thought I would. My goal was to take on the challenge and make day camp as much fun as an overnight camp.
As I am writing this, I am in a car, driving to overnight camp. I am blown away and grateful for two things: one being my overnight camp is opening and two I learned A LOT this summer, stuff I never thought I would know..
Why am I sharing this with you? There has been a lot of changing, canceling, and postponing of plans. Even though there are still opportunities all around you, you may need to look a different way or open your eyes more, but I can say that they are out there somewhere. When you see it, you will be happy you did so. I know I did, and it has been one of the best summers yet. I can’t wait to finish it off and go to my next camp, now its time for me to be the camper, and I am extremely excited and ready for a great summer. See you all when I get back!
August 19, 2020
I spent my summer living in a bubble. You may be wondering how… One week ago today, I returned from overnight camp. I was there for five weeks and removed masks after the first five days and four negative COVID tests. It was a crazy thing! At my camp, we were able to form a bubble through a strict 14 days quarantining before arriving, symptom tracking, and testing. After the camp announced all the campers and counselors were negative, we could have an amazing, regular (ish) summer. We did activities all day long, and I was able to gain a summer refresher by soaking in the sun, swimming in the lake, and hanging out with my best friends. Not only a physical refresher but a really important mental refresher as well. Being a camper for the last summer with no worries, was such a nice change of place and was much needed. I wouldn’t have asked for a better time away from home, and I am so incredibly thankful that we could return to camp. It was truly a fantastic summer!
Now that I’m back, it’s almost time for school, and I have to finish my summer reading! Talk soon + how was your summer?
Do you take time to reflect and what is your favorite way to do so?