Thank you for reading my blog and following along on my journey at City so far! As usual, I’m going to begin by emphasising the subjectivity of this post. Everyone is different, and this post is just “my two cents” on how you can spend your summer as an international student (as a first-year international student, to be specific!)
Our generation can often feel a lot of pressure to always be busy, in addition to the pressure to continuously advance ourselves professionally for the sake of our future careers. Because of this, many university students opt to spend their summer holidays either interning, working or participating in external school-based activities.
While there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, there is a danger of allowing yourself to think that if you do not take part in any of these that you are “lazy” or less than your friends who are taking part in these activities.
My advice to a first-year student, especially one who is taking a challenging course that does not allow them the leisure of much free time, is to sleep your summer away. Okay, not quite! But, do not put unnecessary pressure on yourself to remain busy in the name of trying to keep up with everyone else. If you are able to travel or visit your home country, even better. It is very rejuvenating to go back home after a year of living in a foreign country. Rest, have fun with your friends, bond with your family, and generally take a break from the life that you’ve come from and that you will go back to. This is not to say that you should do absolutely nothing productive, you could learn a language, take a dance class, learn that instrument you’ve always wanted to, etc.
However, for those that actually want to take part in all these things, by all means, add value to your life! My perspective depends on so many factors, some of which are: your personality, your course, your attitude towards your home country and your goals. Also, in later years of university I do believe that you should do things related to your career, and spend your time wisely and deliberately.
Generally, I’m trying to say that if you’ve just began university, you mustn’t let the “overkill” mentality control you – because it easily can! Life is short and before you know it, you’ll be starting your career and working your way up the ladder. Therefore, there is no need to rush into it – sometimes it’s important to just press “pause” and enjoy your time as as student!
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