Sereena Kumar
By Sereena Kumar
My first year of high school is over and it is a beautiful sunny day. I have an enormous amount of free time. Over the school year, I complained of being too busy and wished that I had time for myself. Ironically enough, now that I have that time, I don’t know how to use it! I miss going to school and doing group projects. I miss laughing with my friends and crying over schoolwork with them. School filled me with purpose and it made me feel accomplished. I find that I, as well as my friends, feel sad about school coming to an end. I went on a journey to find out how to rid myself of these Summer Blues.
In order to get to the root of the problem of “Summer Blues,” I tried to visualize Summer Blues through my inner eye, by painting it. I added different shades of blue, and a few stormy clouds, expressing my thoughts through creativity. Art always helps me sort out my emotions and understand them. Plus, art is fun, and I can do it with any materials I have! Summer Blues can be turned into beautiful flowing melodies, bright colors, and words that dance across a page. Art can be anything; it doesn’t only have to be drawing or painting. Find your art medium, find your happy medium.
After finishing my first painting, my brain was awake, and my imagination was ticking. I knew that artists couldn’t just stay in their room, though. To discover a paintbrush’s potential, you need to take it out of its box. I reluctantly stepped outside of my bedroom and went to my yard. I discovered and appreciated the little things that I hadn’t noticed before. I noticed the vines creeping up on the trees, reaching for sunlight. I noticed the clouds shaped like bunnies and hippos. I initially didn’t notice the fire ant hill which I unfortunately stepped on. My sister and I burst out laughing and did a funny little dance to get the ants off of our shoes. Connecting with nature allowed me to clear my head and stop worrying for a minute.
If you really can’t be away from your phone, like me, take pictures of the world around you. I also used an app on my phone, “iNaturalist”, to scan photos of plants or animals to figure out what they are called. I can learn so much more about these organisms with one click on my phone and it is so much more therapeutic than going on social media. Mother Nature never disappoints. She always has something exciting in store for us, so go grab your hiking boot and explore the world!
Now that I have taken action to care for myself, it is time to care for the community. I volunteered to pick up trash in a creek nearby. Surprisingly, there were so many chip bags and candy wrappers littered all over. Volunteering helped me gain a sense of purpose in the world, the purpose I had lost when my school year ended. The world has not recovered from the pandemic yet. It needs all the help it can get. Start with something simple; do something for your neighborhood or a park nearby. Donate clothes, books, or food that you might already have an excess of. Research a cause that you are passionate about, and how you can help. I found that I was passionate about protecting the environment. I found that using my time in a productive manner while doing good for others, is another step to getting rid of Summer Blues.
I went from feeling down in the dumps, to finding a new purpose in life; a purpose to find happiness for myself. I didn’t have to create happiness; I had to find it. It was deep down inside me all along. It is possible to find happiness. It all starts with you. You can either choose to act and do something for yourself, or you can continue to feel Summer Blues… I hope that you choose to take action because you deserve to feel happy. After working so hard in school, it is time to enjoy your life. While these tips worked for me, I would like to add that different people achieve happiness differently. If these tips do not work for you, I encourage you to take your own journey to find out what makes you happy, and what will rid you of your Summer Blues.
Sereena Kumar is a freshman at Enloe High School and has a passion for writing. [email protected]
