Our entire lives we have lived on a schedule – school in the fall all the way through spring and then a break in the summer. But how should we spend our summers? In college we find ourselves playing a balancing act of passing classes, having a social life, and hopefully building or getting ready for our careers in the real world. Summer is
one of the only times we get a free pass from classes and have an exceptional amount of extra time on our hands, but we shouldn’t let it all go to waste.
The 6 Best Ways to Spend This Summer—
1) GET AN INTERNSHIP
What better way to build your career and get your foot in the door than an internship? And, you don’t have to balance the duties of interning with classes because it’s summer! There are plenty of opportunities out there, companies looking for college students that are eager and ready to learn. You can show them your best since you don’t have to spend time on coursework, so summer is an excellent time to get an internship! Try internships.com or campusbrander.com if you need somewhere to start looking!
2) TRAVEL
The word alone seems to imply a grandiose vacation, but it doesn’t have to. If you have the resources then absolutely take a trip to another continent! But if you don’t, traveling includes neighboring cities, states, and even short road trips or flights! Without having to worry about deadlines, assignments, and exams, summer is the perfect time for traveling and absorbing new cultures. It’s amazing how different people live their lives in different cities in the same state! San Francisco and Los Angeles for example are both in California, but have strikingly different vibes and lifestyles. You’d be amazed at what you may learn traveling just a few hours away from all that you’re used to. So spend this summer doing at least one trip!
3) VOLUNTEER
Just as you can learn from an internship and travel, you can also learn plenty from volunteering. There are an incredible amount of charities in America, and they’re all looking for help! Volunteering can range from one single day to an entire month or more – it doesn’t take much, so find an organization looking for volunteers near you. Check out https://www.volunteermatch.org/ and get behind and cause you wholeheartedly support. Spend at least one week of your summer helping others and you’ll find the rewarding experience teaches you more than you might’ve learned in class.
4) DO SOMETHING CREATIVE
Even if you don’t think you have a creative bone in your body, art is good for everyone’s soul. You don’t need to be a Picasso to paint or Shakespeare to write, but the mere activity will open up your eyes to a new perspective. If you’re already the creative type, try a new creative activity you don’t normally do! And if you’re feeling sweet, maybe make something creative for someone else. Doing creative activities requires you to think differently than you would writing essays for class, so spend this summer doing at least one creative thing!
5) ATTEND AN EVENT OR FESTIVAL
During the school year, we’re often too busy with classes, exams, and jobs to attend big events or festivals. So take advantage of your time off this summer and attend something! It could be a music festival or an event encompassing something you’re passionate about (film festival, writer’s symposium, poetry reading, business networking event, etc.). It doesn’t have to be an enormous event, but something that you feel accomplished and happy about attending and you want to tell everyone about afterwards! It’s summertime, so make it an event that matters!
6) CATCH UP WITH YOUR SIBLINGS
When you’re away at college you probably still get a pretty steady dose of phone calls from your parents checking in on you, but while you’re spending so much time away from home, relationships with your siblings can start to become distant. This is your chance to pick on your little brother one more time before another growth spurt has him towering over you or to meet your sister’s new boyfriend and make sure he fits your standards of approval. Use this time to catch up on what’s going on in your siblings’ lives and try to offer whatever wisdom you may have picked up along your own way. It’s likely that once you’re back on campus in the fall, surrounded by friends you haven’t seen in three months, parties, new classes, etc. that you’ll lose touch again -- so make this bonding time count!
Spend this summer right by making the best use of your time! It’s always important to have a good time, go out, spend time with friends and family, but don’t forget that you’re only in college once and you only get a few summers in that time. You won’t have the same opportunities after college because “summer vacation” is something we enjoy as students. Here in college, this is our last time as students. Our life-long routine will soon be broken. We won’t have summers to waste after this, so make the best of it!
