21 Things To Stop Doing The Summer After College Ends (And What To Start Doing Instead)

1. Stop cramming every minute of your day with people and activities. (Start making a list of things you love to do on your own, and start doing them.)

2. Stop getting stressed about all the people who ask about what your next step is. (Start saying you appreciate that they’re thinking about you, but don’t feel like you need to give them an answer.)

3. Stop getting scared that goodbyes are permanent. (Start making plans in the future to see the friends you really care about. Even though things might change, a weekend trip to see your BFF is an amazing thing to look forward to.)

4. Stop putting off all the job applications that you have open on your computer. (Start sorting through the ones you might actually be interested in, and ignore the ones you know would make you miserable.)

5. Stop rewatching the same 20 episodes of Friends over and over again. (Start getting some new content in your life: new podcasts, new television, new magazines.)

6. Stop thinking you need a significant other to move somewhere with. (Start thinking about where in the world you would move if there was nothing standing in your way.)

7. Stop worrying about the fact that you didn’t meet the love of your life in college. (Start remembering that you didn’t go to college so you could find a permanent match, you went to find yourself, your friends, and some of your passions.)

8. Stop trying to plan every second of your future. (Start realizing that even if you plan meticulously, you don’t know how everything is going to go, and that’s okay.)

9. Stop reading all the Facebook statuses that announce your classmates are getting new jobs and moving to new places. (Start taking social media hiatuses and remembering that what you see on Instagram is often a far cry from reality.)

10. Stop ordering your classic one slice of pizza and can of coke from your regular place. (Start learning some go-to recipes that are easy-to-make, and that you know you’ll like.)

11. Stop basing your decisions off what your classmates are doing. (Start really listening to yourself, and figuring out your needs and wants, and then start basing your decisions off that, instead.)

12. Stop obsessing over your college almost-relationships. (Start moving on to bigger and better things — and people.)

13. Stop thinking that you need to make your decisions for the coming year right away. (Start taking your time, because you don’t get this time back, and this is one of the only times in your life when your decisions don’t necessarily have time constraints.)

14. Stop guilting yourself about factoring your significant other into your post-grad decisions. (Start realizing that even though your independence is crucial, you’re allowed to acknowledge that your relationship is a big part of your life.)

15. Stop worrying about the fact that you and your friends aren’t doing anything big when you’re just sitting around shooting the shit. (Start appreciating those moments, because the days of just hanging out doing nothing with the friends who live right down the street are, unfortunately, limited.)

16. Stop complaining that your friendships are disintegrating into digital friendships because you can’t all be in the same place anymore. (Start marveling at the fact that it’s objectively amazing that you can be connected to the people you love almost any time you want.)

17. Stop spending unnecessarily just to push off responsibility. (Start remembering that your credit card is not like your meal plan card; it’s connected to real money, and you need to be aware of how you use it.)

18. Stop putting off the call you know you should make to your parents because you’re avoiding their advice. (Start talking things through with them, and valuing their opinion, even if you ultimately decide not to take their advice.)

19. Stop being scared of taking action, because you’re scared that the action will push you in the wrong direction. (Start celebrating the lack of direction, because it means you have a wide open slate, and have your pick of any direction you want.)

20. Stop considering spending an outrageous amount of money on rent when you likely can’t afford it on an entry-level salary. (Start saving money, and making a plan to start paying student loans, because the more prepared you are, the easier they will be to deal with.)

21. Stop questioning yourself at every turn, and working yourself into a panic over relatively insignificant details. (Start accepting that you’re allowed to make mistakes, and have faith that if you do, you can recover from them.)