How To Prevent Loneliness During The University Summer Break

Adam shares five tips for preventing loneliness and staying positive during the university summer break. 

- Adam Jones

After finishing my first year of university, I was aware that I might feel quite lonely during the summer break. To prevent this from happening, I made lots of different plans to keep myself busy during the four months I’m away from university. You may be in a similar position. Here’s five things that you can do to prevent loneliness during the university summer break:

1. Meet up with your friends from home

Whilst, like me, you may have lost contact with old friends since starting university, I would advise that it’s important to re-connect with them. Not only will this help you escape possible loneliness, it will also show your friends that you still value them and want to keep in contact with them. This could be beneficial to both parties, with some of your other home friends possibly experiencing the same feelings of isolation and loneliness. Never be afraid to message people, even if you haven’t been in contact with them for a while.

2. Make the effort to meet up with friends from university

Personally, I think it’s important to meet up with your university friends in the summer, even if it’s just once. It might be expensive. It might be quite a way to travel. However, people will appreciate the effort you make to see them, even if they don’t necessarily say it. 

Seeing your university friends will also allow you to build stronger bonds with them ahead of the next year. Maintaining a close supportive network of friends can only help in the long-term, especially if your degree entails a lot of teamwork. Don’t wait for others to arrange plans. Take charge and it’s more than likely that you’ll reap the rewards.

3. Build up your portfolio

Building up a portfolio can keep you occupied and can help raise your professional online profile. If you want to impress potential future employers, this is a good thing to do. It can also make you appreciate the knowledge and skills you’ve learnt at university. Whilst creating a portfolio of work may sound like a lot of effort, it can be very rewarding if you show off the range of skills you have. Plus, when you graduate, you can spend less time building a portfolio from scratch and spend more time looking for your first full-time job!

4. Create a vision for the next year

Setting ambitious targets for next academic year can help you find your direction and purpose. For example, as a journalism student, I’ve set myself the task of completing a certain number of articles next year on top of my university work. Aim high and you’re more likely to reach the top, I believe in you all!

Show your vision to others on your course, show it to your lecturers. Both will try and help you achieve your aims; you often need people by your side in order to achieve your goals.

5. Update your CV

As well as building your portfolio, regularly updating your CV with your latest skills and achievements is also very important. You never know when an opportunity could come around the corner. A fully updated CV showcasing all your skills will be useful to have at your fingertips. Whilst it needs to be short enough for a potential employer to read, include as many skills as you can to impress those who view it.

You can find more advice on looking after your wellbeing here

Hello! My name is Adam. I study Journalism and Media Production (BA Hons) at the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham. Being a keen blogger and having several experiences during my academic studies, I hope that I can help people along the way whilst enjoying writing for you