With less than two weeks left of school and summer vacation on its way, it would be beneficial to make a change in your community or even in the world on your small break. No matter how small the change, someone in society would most likely be positively affected by your actions. In relation to mental health, you could donate to an organization, host an event, give a speech, or just check on a friend or family member.

At first glance, making a change can be intimidating, but following a plan can make the process much less stressful. For example, come up with an idea and think of how you want the change to impact others around you. Your actions will then begin to fall into place around your goal of reaching people.

Putting in the work is essential in order to be successful with your plan so consider volunteering somewhere where your message will have the best chance of getting out in the world. Don’t be afraid to communicate your ideas with someone, especially if they are in charge of an organization. These connections will also help your plan move along the path to success, and you might even make some new friends along the way.

Most importantly, making a change has the ability to not only affect others around you positively, but also yourself. According to pursuit-of-happiness.org, “We now have scientific proof that, the more we care about the happiness and wellbeing of our fellow humans, the happier we get.” In turn, this allows us to have higher self-esteem and overall better mental health because we are proud of the things we have accomplished. Although it requires hard work and dedication, making a change where you live or somewhere in the world comes with great rewards, and you shouldn’t pass on an opportunity to do so.