It happens every year: You pack up your dorm room and head home for the summer. You’ve become used to a certain life: freedom, your college friends, no curfew and adventures whenever you want. Now you’re stuck at home, watching countless reruns of reality TV shows, and have nothing to do at all in your hometown. You’ve encountered yet another summer of being bored and staring at the ceiling, forced to count down the days until you can return to school. Here are some ways to cure boredom this summer:
1. Camping trip
Get in your car with some of your best friends, head out to your favorite national park, favorite beach or even just to the middle of the woods, pitch a tent and spend some time next to the campfire, under the stars and making s’mores.
2. Take a hike
No matter where you live, there are at least a couple of good hiking spots in your state. Pull on your boots (or whatever footwear you may own) and hit the trail for a day. Who knows, fresh air might do you some good.
3. Road trip
You might hate being home, and yet there might be things all around you, near your hometown that you’ve never experienced before. Get in the car with your best friends, spend the day, blast your favorite music and just drive. Stay the night where you end up, meet new people, see new places. It could be amazing.
4. Take a food tour of your hometown
Spend the day going around trying food from all the local shops in your city. Make a chart, rate them and figure out which places have the actual potential of you returning to.
5. Re-read your favorite book
Go outside with your favorite book that you’ve ever read, sit in the sun and read it again.
6. Have a movie marathon
Chick flicks, scary movies or action movies, put together a list, invite your friends, make popcorn and spend an entire day watching some of your favorite movies.
7. Go to a concert
Whether it’s a local group, or someone huge, buy some tickets and go entertain yourself with a night filled with some awesome music.
8. Get a summer job
It might not be what you truly want to do, but everyone needs money at some point. Whether it’s an internship with some huge company, or something small and local, having the funds to pay for things the next year at school might actually be useful.
9. Go visit a friend
I’ll be honest, the entire summer without seeing one of your friends from college is one of the worst things ever. So with that being said, get in your car or get on a plane and go visit one of your best friends. See their hometown, where they come from and most importantly, see one of your favorite people again.
10. Go to an amusement park
Disneyland is not joking when they advertise it as the “Happiest Place on Earth.” Go visit. Have fun. It might not be Disneyland, but go somewhere, ride a roller coaster, scream, eat a churro, smile.
11. Go abroad
Maybe it’s through a study abroad program, with friends or even a family vacation, but going abroad is said to be the best times of a person’s life. Buy a ticket. Get on a plane. Have an adventure.
