How To Prevent Loneliness During The University Summer Break

Adam shares five tips for preventing loneliness and staying positive during the university summer break. 

- Adam

After finishing my first year of university, I was aware that I might feel quite lonely during the summer break. To prevent this from happening, I made lots of different plans to keep myself busy during the four months I’m away from university. You may be in a similar position. Here’s five things that you can do to prevent loneliness during the university summer break:

1. Meet up with your friends from home

Whilst, like me, you may have lost contact with old friends since starting university, I would advise that it’s important to re-connect with them. Not only will this help you escape possible loneliness, it will also show your friends that you still value them and want to keep in contact with them. This could be beneficial to both parties, with some of your other home friends possibly experiencing the same feelings of isolation and loneliness. Never be afraid to message people, even if you haven’t been in contact with them for a while.

2. Make the effort to meet up with friends from university

Personally, I think it’s important to meet up with your university friends in the summer, even if it’s just once. It might be expensive. It might be quite a way to travel. However, people will appreciate the effort you make to see them, even if they don’t necessarily say it. 

Seeing your university friends will also allow you to build stronger bonds with them ahead of the next year. Maintaining a close supportive network of friends can only help in the long-term, especially if your degree entails a lot of teamwork. Don’t wait for others to arrange plans. Take charge and it’s more than likely that you’ll reap the rewards.

3. Build up your portfolio

Building up a portfolio can keep you occupied and can help raise your professional online profile. If you want to impress potential future employers, this is a good thing to do. It can also make you appreciate the knowledge and skills you’ve learnt at university. Whilst creating a portfolio of work may sound like a lot of effort, it can be very rewarding if you show off the range of skills you have. Plus, when you graduate, you can spend less time building a portfolio from scratch and spend more time looking for your first full-time job!

4. Create a vision for the next year

Setting ambitious targets for next academic year can help you find your direction and purpose. For example, as a journalism student, I’ve set myself the task of completing a certain number of articles next year on top of my university work. Aim high and you’re more likely to reach the top, I believe in you all!

Show your vision to others on your course, show it to your lecturers. Both will try and help you achieve your aims; you often need people by your side in order to achieve your goals.

5. Update your CV

As well as building your portfolio, regularly updating your CV with your latest skills and achievements is also very important. You never know when an opportunity could come around the corner. A fully updated CV showcasing all your skills will be useful to have at your fingertips. Whilst it needs to be short enough for a potential employer to read, include as many skills as you can to impress those who view it.

You can find more advice on looking after your wellbeing here

Hello! My name is Adam. I study Journalism and Media Production (BA Hons) at the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham. Being a keen blogger and having several experiences during my academic studies, I hope that I can help people along the way whilst enjoying writing for you

Body Positivity During Bikini Season

Leah shares her top tips for keeping body positive during the pressures of "bikini season".

- Leah

Summer is approaching and that’s super exciting… until social media starts calling it “bikini season”. While the label may seem perfectly harmless and commonplace, it’s toxic because it suggests that you are obligated to wear a bikini between the hot, sticky months of June to August, which can cause a lot of anxiety. It also means that a lot of people are going to start scary fad diets and unrealistic exercise regimes, focusing on getting skinny rather than improving health and fitness.

As someone who has struggled with disordered eating and body image issues throughout my life, I have felt that as soon as “bikini season” draws nearer, I experience a resurgence of self-doubt and insecurity. The thought of feeling obligated to wear skimpy clothing to the beach and take pictures for Instagram is daunting to say the least. The thought of needing to additionally “fix” my body for this moment, throws my memory right back into my worst days. These thoughts can feel like a huge setback in the progress I’ve made. I can go most of the year oozing confidence and body positivity, and that’s a huge accomplishment for me that’s taken a lot of time and energy. Still, the challenge of remaining steadfast in my own confidence gets much harder as the summer approaches.

Over the years, I have learned that “Bikini Season” is such a narrow way to look at such an exciting, fun period of the year, that really does not require you to wear a bikini at all. What I have learned is that you can pick clothes that make you feel comfy and confident in the summer, in the same way that you do in the winter. If a bikini doesn’t feel right to you, that doesn’t make you less than in anyway. Wear a one piece, board shorts, a wetsuit, or a space suit for all it matters.

So, here’s my advice, as someone who has put my own bikini body through a lot of criticism and realized there is another way to look at things:

● Do a whole beach day without taking a bikini photo!
Social media can be dangerous, not just because of the photoshopped and unrealistic points of comparison. I often find myself happily and confidently prancing around in a bikini until I see a photo of myself posted. Then I begin to scrutinize, second guess, and panic. I always wish I stayed off of social media and just enjoyed myself in the moment!

● Push your own boundaries a bit.
Push your own boundaries a little bit to wear things that you love but may have not always found yourself fully confident in. This should not be based on what you see worn around you, but what you yourself would like to be in. It gets HOT and no one should be trapped sweating in baggy, uncomfortable clothes all summer. Try to wear something daring even once this summer and you may be endlessly glad that you did.

● Your progress is real and valid.
The thought of putting on a bikini can feel very triggering, and the resurgence of insecurities can seem to invalidate your progress. This is not the case in the long run! The progress you have made is very valid and is a continuous journey on the path to self-acceptance. Talk to yourself as you would a close friend and remind yourself that it is okay to still be working on your self-image.

My name is Leah, I'm an almost-graduate from the University of Toronto. I've been working to find self love and happiness for a long time, and I am excited to be sharing some of what I've learned with students across the globe