As summer begins, I have already been trying to enjoy it. Being my favorite time of the year, I have learned five simple things that need to be done to ensure a good summer.

Go outside

One of the best things about summer (to me at least) is the weather. You can go outside in shorts and a t-shirt and not have to layer up!! That's why you shouldn't be spending your days cooped up in the house in front of the TV. Go outside!! Be active!! Whether it's a walk around the neighborhood with your dog(s), a warm up jog before a workout, sitting by the pool, or just throwing the football around the backyard find any excuse to go outside. This summer is expected to be one of the hottest it years so plan accordingly. One day you can go for a hike another day you and a few of your friends can drive down to the beach. Summer is the time to be outside so go outside and make the best of it!

Have a job

While being able to go out whenever you want and have as much free time as possible, the fact is you need to have money coming in. If you wanna be able to go out and have fun, you're going to need money to be able to keep up. Now I am not saying to work 9-5 and spend your whole summer cooped up at work, but find a good job with flexible hours that will still allow you to have time to yourself and be able to bring in money to enjoy that time as well. And also we're getting to that age where everyone will be working soon so be prepared for days where all your friends are at work and at least be able to keep yourself occupied while also making money.

Go to the gym

I know at least in my case I can say the one thing I always like to do after a long school year is get myself back in the gym. Summer time is the best time to hit the gym and work off all the stress or weight that finals week put on. It's also a time to test yourself and your body even further than you could imagine. I know when I first started at the gym I never thought I'd be able to do half the stuff I can do now. Being at the gym is a good way to relieve stress, build confidence and keep yourself healthy.

Spend time with friends

After being apart for so long, I know the first thing I always want to do when I finish school is be able to hang out with my friends. There's always so much to catch up on and it's always great being able to see someone after a long time apart and it's always special. Even if you got to see them every now and then during school now you can see them as much as you'd like (give or take work, vacation and other things) I know being able to see my friends as much as possible is one thing i always try to make the most out of.

Enjoy it as much as possible

As we start to get older a lot of the things that we enjoy slowly become less and less frequent. As we get older and make the transition from school to work, we suddenly find ourselves find less and less time to do those things that we love so much. People I know now are currently making that transition and as they're searching for/or getting new jobs, they slowly begin to lose time for a lot of the things that they normally like to do as they will now be focused on work and making money. I'm not trying to say growing up is gonna be bad or anything like that I'm just saying that in this time now it's best to take time to appreciate what you have now and get the most out of it while you still can.