Embracing a Joyful Summer: Redefining the Hot Girl/Hot Boy Summer Concept

Summer is here, the sun is shining and people in general feel much happier when the weather is good. Unless you are not a fan of warm weather (um what is wrong with you?! *joking*). I often hear mixed conversations amoung my friends in their late 20s and 30s about how they want to make their summer joyful. On one hand, some feel young, thriving and feel they can conquer the world. On the other hand, I hear some grumble that they are too old, do not have time to conquer things and feel like age is catching up on them. So how do we deal with this?! I feel I am diving into a bit of controversial topic here, but hey if you have any opinions on this, feel free to share. I thought to dive into this topic as it is quite a common conversation I hear so often. Do we really need to use the term ‘hot girl summer’? Probably not, but why not talk about it and redefine what it means.

I feel to have a hot girl/hot boy summer we need to first have acceptance and allowance in my opinion. To communicate to ourselves that we will allow ourselves to enjoy some days and nights during the summer. And yes, this will require some work. There may be so many things happening in life with relationships, boredom, work, family, friends etc. However, I feel it is important to cultivate some time to oneself or with family to enjoy small and big moments. To not feel guilty and ALLOW yourself to enjoy some summer fun.

Planning or being spontaneous with oneself or with loved ones! I often ask myself, “what is something new that I want to try or have not done?”, “do I want to go somewhere new and how will I do this?”. I feel planning ahead makes a better outcome vs just thinking and not doing it. I have been in that spiral many times, thinking but never taking action, having fear, financial worries or worse procrastination. When I do get spare time, I try to look up events, find new places to eat, try new recipes, farmers market trips, a new sport or just explore something totally new altogether. Not everyone likes to do things spontaneously or try new things, but I feel for me, it has helped me adapt to change faster and I always have fun in the end. It has opened my mind to new concepts and people as well.

Using the summer to let go and work on self improvement & growth is another big one in my opinion. In the beginning of this article, I spoke that many tend to be more happier due to more daylight hours (especially if you are from the Northern hemisphere). So why not use this time to assess ourselves and see what we need to do internally to improve our lives? What is something mentally wearing us down? Do I need and want to change certain habits? Who am I becoming? Summertime is the halfway point to the end of the year, so why not allow those good endorphins kick and in and use it for something good in our lives?

Revamping and organizing your home and work environment is something I feel that can be effective. Using the time to clean up whether its material things or people (we all deal with hard people) can help shift our mood. Maybe we need to make new financial plans for the following months. Or placing new boundaries and respecting things and people around us. This not only helps during the summer but will set the tone for the year ahead. So what is something that needs cleaning up in your life?

Taking the time to rest or work on something that makes you happy. What are some hobbies you want to work on? Are there times you can fit solitude and rest? Whatever that means to you, DO IT. I am the type of person that likes to constantly be on my feet. It used to be a huge struggle for me to sit and do nothing. Lately though, I have been better at this. Is it due to me getting older? Who knows, but partly I do not think so as I was raised in a family environment where being productive also meant rest (not healthy!). I took it upon myself to learn how to rest. If one is grinding too hard, that can come along with its own repercussions too. I hope that later this summer, perhaps in August I can use some days to go cycling and run more outdoors this year. I have not been able to outdoor cycle as much as I have wanted to this year but I will make it happen!

I feel by doing all of this, its allowed me to have a great summer so far. I have been traveling, pushing boundaries, being carefree, confident and doing different things to enjoy my life. Letting my mind cultivate the environment I want. Which in turn, allows my year to turn the way I want it (if you haven’t read my article on goal setting, I recommend it). Is this not what a hot summer girl entails? I hope you are having a great summer so far. Drop a line down below and tell me what you all are doing this summer outside of work or school. I hope you are all having a hot girl/hot boy summer, whatever that means to you. And like I said, do we really need this term? I do not think so, but it has motivated me to make the most of my summer this year for ME. Which makes me happy and feeling like a boss.