At the end of spring break (or any break for that matter), I always find myself scrolling through social media envying those that went to the beach or the mountains or went to extravagant events….etc. Even if I’m not traveling, I always set my expectations so high for breaks that they are just set up to not be met.

This especially applies in the summer. Every single year I think to myself: “This is gonna be the best summer yet.” That is a lot of pressure on just one summer.

Due to this mindset, if I find myself not going out doing something for even just a few days in the summer, I think I am “wasting” it. The reality is though, no matter how cheesy it sounds, the best moments come when you’re not looking for them.

The best summer of my life was the summer of 2016: summer after freshman year. Sure I got to go to Florida and see the beautiful beaches of Destin again, but that wasn’t even the best part for me. The best moments of that summer and what made it the best was just the small ones that I encountered in my own town when I least expected it.

I truly believe things worked out the way they did that summer because of the way I was thinking. When I returned from Florida, I basically thought the fun of summer was over for me, so I wasn’t looking for anything else exciting to happen.

When you put it in your mind that you have to make a certain time period the “best yet,” you’re basically just trying too hard to make it happen when it should just be natural. By making a mental note that you have to have the time of your life, you diminish the odds of it actually happening.