I love taking pictures. I also love nature and exploring and eating good food. Most of all, I love sharing moments with other people.

After enduring the brutal Boston winter of 2015, being trapped inside under four layers of clothes in the not-so-spring, and isolating myself in a city last summer to learn how to become an adult, my boyfriend, Andy, had an idea.

We should do something picture-worthy every weekend.

The idea seems so simple, yet so difficult for most college students. We live in one of the most quintessential American cities within an hour of anything that we could ever want or need. Still, so many of us are caught in the college “bubble,” the cycle of going to class, studying, partying, and repeating. Do we pay $65,000 per year to repeat that cycle over and over again?

I don’t believe so, and Andy doesn’t either. We should break out of the bubble and endure the ruthless Boston weather, so that our quarter-of-a-million-dollar investment is worth it.

I was raised in a suburban, cookie-cutter town outside of Houston, Texas. Before college, adventure for me required a vacation far away from the burnt, yellowed grass plot that I called home.

Andy is from Saint Paul, Minn. He grew up hiking, camping, and exploring the luscious green Twin Cities that he called home.

In the beginning of our relationship, he often talked about how great life was in Minnesota. He loved the outdoors, and although I did too, I rarely had the chance to explore back home.

We came to Boston on our own separate adventures, but as cheesy as it sounds, part of a relationship is learning the share an adventure.

Minute Man State Park

So for the past semester, we’ve been taking pictures. We’ve gone hiking, and biking, and shopping (which came as a shock to most of his family and friends). We’ve tried to eat our way through Boston, cook our own delicacies (tacos), and attend every free event that the University has offered. We even attended a vigil for the revered homeless man across the street from my apartment.

Boston Burger Company

And still, after all of these adventures and memories, we have better grades than ever, we maintain social lives outside of each other, and we regularly attend classes. Half of the activities are free, and the other half (i.e. shopping and dining out) cost as much as you want them to cost.

Walden Pond

It is possible to break the cycle and still be successful, and it is even more fun when you can share it with someone. It doesn’t have to be your boyfriend; it can be a friend, a roommate, or just a random person that you met off of a Facebook post.

SoWa Outdoor Market and Food Trucks

So I’d hate to burst your college bubble, but there is more to college than studying and parties. When you’re stuck inside the library all day or hung over at 4 p.m. on a Sunday, you miss the leaves changing. In 20 years you probably won’t remember your boring classes or subpar theme parties.

College is supposed to be the best time of your life. Was it worth it?