How to Level up This Summer ☀️

Hey y’all,

I’m guessing school is over for you. If so, congrats on getting to the finish line!

If not, best of luck with finals. 💪

Regardless, These next few months present the perfect opportunity to level up academically, socially, and even financially. Without the burden of school or extracurriculars, you have the chance to become unrecognizable by the time school starts up again.

Before I dive into this email, let me be clear: you should enjoy your summer.

Relax, go on trips, and hang with friends, but don’t take this time for granted. Three months is plenty of time to have fun and work on yourself.

Let’s dive into a few of my tips.

Enrich Your Mind

This might sound weird coming from me: but school makes learning feel like a chore—unless you have great teachers, of course.

But the vast majority of students reading this probably feel forced to study topics they don’t care about, which in turn depletes them of their curiosity.

But the world is a fascinating place, and this summer I want you to rekindle that curiosity. Think about what you want to learn, not what the school system has forced you to study.

Do you want to explore ancient human civilizations? Exoplanets? A foreign language? Coding?

Learning can be fun when you’re focusing on the topics you care about! And in the process, you’ll become a more knowledgeable, cultured, and informed individual.

How you pursue these topics will vary widely, but I suggest you spend 15-30 minutes a day (yes, just 15-30 minutes) perusing articles, watching videos, and reading books. Have a notebook by your side where you jot down interesting information.

And don’t think of it as “taking notes” since that’ll suck the fun out of it. Jot down however much or however little information you want—but just engage with the material in some way.

Secure the Bag

I recommend that you get a part-time job or start a side hustle this summer.

Most part-time jobs are somewhat easy to find and don’t require crazy work experience. For example, you could work as a server at a restaurant, a cashier at your local grocery store, or as a pizza delivery driver.

The benefit of getting a part-time job is twofold. Yes, you’ll make money (obviously). But you’ll also gain experience that you can highlight on your college application.

“But Gohar, won’t this just be some lame position colleges won’t care about?”

I argue that part-time jobs can be even more impressive than a fancy internship (sometimes). A part-time job is humble; it’s the quintessential symbol of hard work and responsibility, and it adds character to an application.

Now if you’re more ambitious, you could do a side hustle—something like content creation, video editing, and tutoring.

In high school, I built websites each summer and ran ads on them using Google AdSense. While I wasn’t making crazy money, it was very much on par with what I’d be making from a part-time job without the added burden of having a boss or having to wake up early, lol.

Be a Tryhard

I have a confession: I was a huge tryhard in high school (surprise surprise).

The summer before 9th grade, I self-studied To Kill a Mockingbird because I knew it was the first book we’d cover in my English class. And I even self-studied a bit of biology.

I’m not saying you should self-study for your classes, but I recommend getting familiar with the topics you’ll encounter this fall. For example, if you’re taking a challenging history course, skim the syllabus (if you have one) and gain a high-level understanding of what you’re in for.

In addition to familiarizing yourself with content, also spend some time this summer upgrading your study systems. Think about your academic performance this past year and where you may have fallen short.

Could you start using a calendar this upcoming school year? Maybe a to-do list? Are there specific supplies (e.g., binders, binder dividers, post-it flags) that could help you become more organized?

While you don’t have to worry about your study system until later in the summer, now might be a great time to jot down some ideas.

Become Unrecognizable

Literally. Get active, eat healthier, upgrade your style, and develop a skincare routine.

Every morning, I like to get 10-15 minutes of sunlight (shoutout Andrew Huberman). Please do not skip out on morning sun; it literally boosts my mood for the rest of the day. It’ll also help you feel more alert, strengthen your immune system, improve your skin, and support your metabolism.

You should also hit the gym because odds are you won’t have time for it during the school year. I follow a simple routine known as PPL, which stands for “push, pull legs.”

On push day, you hit your chest, shoulders, and triceps. On pull day, you hit your back and biceps. And on leg day, you hit… legs (who would’ve thought). There are many variation of PPL, so I suggest you search up “beginner PPL routine” and find one that suits you.

As for your eating habits, I recommend you start each morning with a breakfast rich in both probiotics and prebiotics (in other words, eat your yogurt and fiber). Then throughout the day, be sure to consume enough protein, especially if you’re weight training. Around 0.6-0.8g/lb of body weight is the standard.

You could also throw in some supplements such as vitamin D3 and fish oil.

As for style… that’s still something I’m figuring out myself, lol. I keep things super simple, but I’ll let you know if I change anything this summer.

And then finally, we have skincare. I used to have a ton of acne, and although my skin isn’t perfect, it’s a lot better than what it used to be. At the very least, I recommend following a simple routine that consists of a cleanser, moisturizer, and sunscreen.

What did you think about this newsletter? What do you want to see in the future? Feel free to DM me on Instagram to let me know (@goharsguide).

If you want study help, come join my Discord! We have a global community of students helping each other succeed in school. I’d love to see you there.

And if you need help with college applications, check out Next Admit! We have a team of Ivy League consultants eager to help you navigate the admissions process.

I’ll see you next week!

Best,
Gohar