In the summer I am able do just about anything I could ever want, whether it’s to walk around town and get a bite to eat at a bodega, go to the movies with some friends, or come back home to play video games, and maybe write a thing or two in my journal and draw a few sketches.

But every year, I have fallen into this seemingly inescapable trap: being stuck in my room, surfing the Internet and refreshing Twitter and Facebook over and over, lost on what to do next, essentially doing next to nothing.

The only time of year I have an almost unlimited amount of time, and that is when productivity is at my lowest. Sounds ironic, but that’s been the reality for the majority of my past summers.

The majority of students run out from campus believing they’re ready to do anything, only to come back saying all they did was sleep, stream, and eat. From years of experience, there’s a reason why I deemed doing something for the summer as a vital lesson.

It’s not to say that sleeping, streaming, and eating ain’t a bad way to spend a break. It’s far from it if you have had an exhausting semester and need a lot of time to rest. But if you end up feeling as if you have nothing to else left to do, feeling that days go by like minutes and that after all that work from school you feel as if you no longer have a purpose but to fade in and out of existence via sleep deprivation from last night’s Netflix binge, something isn’t right.

Breaks are more than just times of the year where you can eat 5 times a day and sit in your air-conditioned bedroom for three months. Summer breaks should be the time to do as much as you can to better your own self, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Spend time in the summer actually doing things: whether it’s the little things, such as learning a new skill like drawing, writing a story, or building a website; or something big, like planning a road trip somewhere with friends and/or family, starting a plan to exercise and try for a healthier diet, or maybe even starting a plan for a freelance business around a valuable skill you have. Work to step outside your comfort zone, and learn something new this summer.

For those who are already doing something for the summer, especially those who scored themselves a summer job/internship, I congratulate you for already pursuing something outside of your degree. But be sure to make the most of your profession; work hard, learn to take initiative, and make the best of your time with your co-workers.

No matter how busy you plan to be during your summer break, go out and do something you can look back on and be proud of, for the worst thing you can ever do is go through life without living it.