The sun is extra hot now, the beaches are packed, and the time for summer fun is here! When it comes to summer, we usually think of extravagant plans we will do, how much fun we’re going to have and all the places we’ll visit. However, for many of us, we never actually do it! We end up staying home, ruining our sleep schedule, and not having a fun time. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes we go out, but maybe not as much as we intended. For the people finally graduating and finishing school, we plan out an amazing and fun life after high school and end up just going to college or getting a boring minimum wage job! So, besides the three typical options: college, work, or doing absolutely nothing, what else can you do this summer?
Explore the local area. It sounds simple, but it is incredibly fun! Especially if you have graduated, now you have time to explore things you may have wanted to do but couldn’t because of school. Maybe there’s new places just waiting to be found and it will become your favorite new spot. Find a new restaurant, go to a local gathering, go to a local farm, go to a public park, visit a new beach. The possibilities are endless! Try planning a day with family and friends to spend at a museum or theme park you have wanted to go to. Go to a new part of the city or even another city and just explore. It can’t hurt more than doing nothing all day and sleeping until three in the afternoon!
Volunteering. Now I know I said this is about stuff to do that isn’t work, but just listen. Volunteering can be fun and serve as a way to make new friends and find a hobby. You could volunteer at a pet shelter, cook food for a shelter, help out at an event you like, or even join a cause. Volunteering is not only helpful to the community, but if you quite literally have nothing else to do, it’s something you can try with spare time. There isn’t much to lose anyway, if you don’t like it you could volunteer to do something else instead. But who knows, you could find a hobby from your volunteer work, make new friends, or even get invested in something you didn’t expect to!
Gardening! It is actually quite simple and the season would be a great reason to try it. You can start with something simple, maybe a flower or legume which can be harvested quickly. You can also do research to try and find something you could plant now and expect to see flourish later on down the road. Gardening can also be something to try with your friends or a family member. If you do the correct research, you wouldn’t need to spend too much money since you already have an idea of what you are trying to grow. Overall, it is not something many people do now these days, but it is definitely worth a try!
Learn a language. Now I know many of us have tried and said we are going to learn so and so language by so and so time, but many do not stick to it. This summer could actually be a great chance if you do not slack off! You can learn quite a lot in only three months, even if the language is relatively hard you could learn the basics and basic phrases. If you keep up the habit during summer it would be easy to carry on afterwards and hopefully you would have mastered the language by the time next summer break rolls around. Learning a language is tedious and hard work, but there are countless resources and guides online, and that’s just the free ones.
Cook or bake! Many people joke about how they cannot cook or bake, and they could even have a knack for burning toast, but many of us are easily impressed by people who can. However, cooking and baking is actually very simple if you just find a good recipe and take your time. Try making a meal you are familiar with, perhaps recreate something you have eaten before. All you need to do is find a good recipe and make sure you have the ingredients. You can easily find amazing recipes on blogs or just by Googling and checking the reviews. Now, if you are worried about the ingredients, fear not, there is a website that will allow you to choose ingredients you do have and finds recipes across the internet that fit your criteria. Even if it goes wrong, you can always try to fix what went wrong or just try an easier recipe.
As the end of the school year approaches, many of us are excited but end up either doing nothing, or if you’re graduating, just going to work or college eventually. There is so much more to do than waste your time during these hot months. This list can even apply to stuff outside of summer, perhaps during another break or even if you just have a lot of spare time. Make sure to live your life to the fullest so you can have memories to reflect upon and cherish.
