Don’t Let the End of Summer End Your Work Ethic

No matter how long summer break could have been, there is a moment when we have to resume our own status as students here at the UWT where we think, learn, and take daily steps and earn daily improvement for our own pursuits. Yet, due to a summer break that went on for over three months, many of us students may not be mentally prepared for the fact that break is over. As Samantha Boardman of the Huffington Post writes, “…transitions are hard, and the end of summer can be particularly difficult for a number of reasons, because the end of summer means the end of fun for many people.”

Mentality is the source of the way we feel, behave, and fight; how eager we are helps measure how productive we are. As we’re coming back to our own campus after such a long break, there’s something we need to do to keep our heads up, our spirits upbeat, our hands busy—a positive mindset and work ethic.

As Boardman states, the “…back to school mindset can awaken anxieties of long ago about returning to school.” Each time we begin a new school year, uncertainty is what we have in our minds—being uncertain about what we’ll do, what challenges we’ll face, and obviously, what grades we’ll get.

However hard we try to make the transition from summer to autumn go smoothly, we will face challenges and make mistakes.

As Dr. Pam Spurr, a self-help expert of the UK Daily Express mentions, one of the biggest mistakes we make is “… promising ourselves that we’ll hang on to the relaxed feeling we had over the summer and then breaking that promise the minute we’re back in our autumn routine.” We may try to keep telling ourselves that “everything’ll be alright,” but we cannot just simply ignore the problems we have if we struggle to get up in the morning, go to class, and work on homework when the allure of playing games or bingeing our favorite TV show is so strong.

But if we act and try, we can solve this problem. As Dr. Spurr emphasizes, “Research shows we can notice real benefits from taking five minutes each day to sit calmly, plan your time and then carry on through your day in a more relaxed fashion.”

In the meantime, if you aren’t feeling ready for real school work, do real things to get rid of what is slowing you down. Boardman suggests that we think about what we enjoy about the fall, “instead of fixating on what we don’t like about the end of summer.” We take a new season as a chance to correct old mistakes, as a beginning to redo what we think we failed to do, and of course, as a pleasure to meet the people who will be part of our own inner circles. Yes, your new friends are another source of the fun you’ll get next summer!

Fortunately, there are UWT students who look forward to starting off a new school year with new determination, not new depression. Gardner Gomes, a sophomore majoring in Computer Science, is one of them. When asked if he had any anxiety about the end of summer he said, “I’m all right and excited. I like to do my own stuff and [am anticipating] new classes and new professors.” He just sounded happy and grateful that the UWT is where he would continue to get his own “UWT’s been good, and it’ll be good for me when I can focus on what I need to do,” Gomes said with a smile.

Yes, Mr. Gomes is right. Learning is good, the UWT is good, and so will be a new academic year. Let’s get new spirit with new concentration as we keep going on this journey forward!