Elizabeth Nally

hello, people! summer break just started for me and i’m so excited for what’s to come! i figured that making a masterpost would make it official and also would give everyone some ideas how to spend it fruitfully!! let’s begin fellas :’)

- the day school ends -

aka the day when you realize that you have days and days ahead of you and don’t know where to start

deep clean your room – this will give you he feeling that summer has actually begun and plus you now have a clean room haha

make a new playlist (a big one, okay?) – these are super fun to make and also summer does deserve some new funky and sporty songs in its bag

relax – go pamper yourself; get that double scoop ice-cream, go to spa, maybe get your nails and hair done. you have survived till summer break and you deserve this!

try to sort out your tasks and assignments into your planner – I know this can be tough, especially at the start when holidays have just begun; but try to at least plan out for the next week or two. maybe you want to work on that essay or write out those notes – planning will def help you to feel organized and get back your life in place.

- the following weeks -

gET THAT SHIT DONE NOW!!! SERIOUSLY DO IT!! DON’T PUT IT OFF TILL THE LAST WEEK!!! DO IT FAM, DO IT!!! (im low-key saving your butts with this tip, please listen to me) – write out those essays till they are perfect, solve that problem set till its ingrained in your brain, do your readings and write those notes. do it!!

combine that shit with fun stuff (see below) don’t burn yourself out please. and most importantly do not stress!!!11!!!!!

connect with people. call that friend you forgot about and that aunt who has been asking you over for dinner for ages. summer gives you the time to rekindle your relationships and seriously though, connecting with people will make your life much happier.

get a new hobby!! do you draw? paint? write? whatever you do – start doing it. use that time which you spend on the internet in exploring your passions and finding your interests.

seriously though, do that work first.

- some (fun) stuff to do in summer -

clean your closet (do it mate)

compliment people more

smile at strangers often

vlog your days. maybe start a YouTube channel for this?

revamp your blog

learn coding and revamp that shitty theme of yours (this applies for me, chill)

keep a gratitude journal

go a week without any social media (this will be hard, but try it!!)

go hiking or cycling with a friend

read 7-8 books or as many books as you please

have a do nothing day - treat yourself love!

learn a new kind of dance - this is really fun, i promise

go a whole day with any technology

do a 30 day challenge!!

seek out an interesting article to read everyday

go camping in the hills

have a bonfire!! roast marshmallows (or burn old notes lmao)

learn to knit/sew

save up!! (…they blow it all in a single day? lmao don’t though)

star gazing on a clear night!!

talk till dawn about random shit with a random person

a no makeup day – let your skin breathe

go on a family trip!

visit a sanctuary or a zoo with a younger sibling or smol kids

there are endless possibilities!! these are just some to get you started!!

- the last few days -

yo remember you still have winter break to come this year!! don’t be sad, fam!!

have a dance party in your room with your favourite music on (bc you only live once)

check and recheck if you got all that work done (if you didn’t, rip you haha)

check your school’s site for new updates and stuff (I bet you don’t do this though)

annnnd then enjoy your last day!! trust me - you’re going to have an amazing term ahead of this!!

Hope this helps! + you can always send me requests for masterposts since my ask box is always open! (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡

Why I Became a Crisis Counselor for Crisis Text Line

by Calvin Stowell, Chief Growth Officer, DoSomething.org

TW: Suicide

About a year ago, I signed up to join Crisis Text Line as a counselor. (Full Disclosure: My former boss is the CEO there and I was around while it went from an idea to a full-fledged organization.)

For those unaware, Crisis Text Line is the nation’s first 24/7 crisis line via text.

It works well for a lot of reasons, but I’ll list my favorite few to give you some context.

Young people don’t call. They text. The old school phone model was great for a time when people made phone calls, now those are pretty much limited to business meetings and baby boomers communicating with each other.

One counselor can field multiple texters at once. If you work on a phone line you can only handle one person at a time, which means there’s a serious backlog. Sometimes with phone numbers, you have to wait 30 minutes for a counselor to pick up, if they do at all. With CTL everyone is attended to within 5 minutes.

So why did I spend dozens of hours in training and spend hours a week volunteering?

In high school and college, I lost a handful of friends to suicide. It’s a total cliche, but it’s true when I say that there isn’t a day that goes by without them on my mind.

I wonder what I could have done differently to have helped them. I wonder if I could have listened more. I wonder if I could have given them resources.

With Crisis Text Line I know that I can give someone an ear and resources if they need it. When you wrap up a conversation with a texter and they tell you that you walked them back from the edge there is no better feeling in the world.

Crisis Text Line relies on word of mouth advertising. You can help promote the service by joining Crisis Crews. It will give you everything you need to help run a guerilla marketing campaign for the organization in your neighborhood: http://dsorg.us/2osqCPr

Read more stories from the DoSomething.org staff here!

IF YOU ARE IN REAL CRISIS, TEXT DS TO 741741.

IF YOU ARE IN NEED, CHECK OUT THESE MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES:

Mental Health Awareness Month on @postitforward

We’re all in this together. The story of your life can change someone else’s. #PostItForward

DoSomething.org’s Crisis Crew Campaign

A simple and easy way to make sure that young people in need learn about the vital services CTL provides.  You can sign up to help those in crisis find help.

Shine Text

#MotivationMonday every day. A daily text to help you thrive from @shinetext

A Guide to Bullet Journaling by @studypetals

A beginner’s guide to creating a bullet journal, which can help you track your tasks, plans, thoughts, mood, habits, and basically everything else!

Mental-Health-Specific Bullet Journal Pages