Welcome or welcome back everyone. My junior year of college is over and it’s finally summertime. Quarantine has kind-of-sort-of lifted, and some people have resumed life by traveling and going out as if we are not still in a pandemic. If you’re like me, you’re probably still social distancing. I mean, I want to see 2021 so I will remain as far from yall as possible because the pandemic hasn’t ended just because you all got bored.
Back when we were in isolation indefinitely, I created a list of alternative plans for Summer 2020 to ensure I still made this most out of this summer break from home. The CDC has declared small gatherings with face masks to be okay, so I plan to see a few of my people, but otherwise, I’m sticking to the original plan.
My plans consist of goals that I’ve always had for myself, but I’ve never had the time to do, skills to sharpen, and bad habits to break. Let’s start. *Note: I wrote this list in May. The italicized text will provide current updates!*
Things to Start
- Meditation and yoga to start my day– Still looking for my favorite creators to follow along with. I’m not consistent yet, but we’re getting there.
- Learn to code– I started learning R for my research class, but the lessons stopped once we never returned to classes after spring break. I haven’t started yet, but I plan to relearn everything and get further!
- Get another job--I’ve stepped away from work this summer to deal with current events, but I’ve been applying and interviewing to secure more jobs this August/Fall. Multiple streams of income, baybeee.
- I will learn French– It’s been tough, not gonna lie.
Things To Improve
- I will read at least 10 books– I love reading but I never had the time to focus in and read during the school year. I recently finished The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho! 9 books left.
- I will dust off my Spanish– This has been kind of tough because I often get Spanish and French confused because they are very similar.
- I will get better at freestyling on the piano– I’m good at learning a song I want to know, but I want to be able to make random chords sound good, you know? It’s going well!
- I will continue learning how to do my own hair so I can save money– I did my own knotless braids. Guess how much it cost?…$12! But it sure takes a while to do by yourself
- I will also continue learning how to do my own nails- Luckily, I have naturally long nails, so I’ve gotten by on just painting my real nails. I’m also finding some really nice glue on nail options! Much better than spending $45 a month on acrylics.
- I will improve my spending by budgeting– Ehh, it’s been kind of successful so far. I’ve never been a reckless spender, I’ve always saved a lot of money. I just figured I could save even more if I stop spending money on food. I’ve been doing biweekly budgets instead of monthly budgets, which has been helpful!
Habits To Break
- I will stop checking my phone first thing in the morning– This is a bad habit I’ve had since 7th grade. It’s tough to break an 8 year-long habit!
- I’ll decrease my screen time– Not as much improvement here as I’d hoped. In light of recent events, I’ve felt pressure to be aware and stay on social media.
- I’ll stop buying food whenever I feel too lazy to cook something– It’s been a painful habit to break because convenience is convenient but so far so good!
- I will delete at least one of my social media platforms–Just deleted Snapchat yesterday. I haven’t really used it since high school, so goodbye SC stories of people I haven’t seen since high school!
I can’t believe it’s already July. Summer ends next month, and we’ve technically been on summer vacation since March! Even though 2020 had us messed up in the first half, I feel like things can turn around for the better when we accept the things we can’t control and reroute.
Carpe Diem Question: What will you do to make the most out of summer quarantine?
Carpe Diem – Seize the Day!
Manyi.
