Summer break is already here for a lot of us and if it isn’t here yet, well it is running towards you whether you like it or not. For those who already have their entire summer planned out, this article is not for you. As for the people who don’t have something to do, here are some options.
1. Volunteer Work
It is always good to give back to the world that already provides us with so much. Not only does it look good on a resume, it also allows you give a lot and see the smile on other people’s faces. VolunteerMatch notifies people of volunteer jobs available nearby them. It only takes a few minutes to create an account, list your interests and they will match you up with volunteer jobs near you.
2. Summer Job or Internship
If you do not already have a job, consider looking for one to make some money. If you want to work this summer and want to make money, it is not too late to apply for summer jobs. For example, Play:ground NYC is an organization in New York City and they are still looking for Playworkers (volunteer, trainee and full time/part time job position). If you like working with children, are patient and fun, this job is for you!
3. Learn to Swim
If you do not know how to swim but are able to read this article, it is time that you learn how to swim because you should. Get your shit together, pull out your little swimming noodle and get your ass to the YMCA. Or better, get your parents to teach you through the same method that was used for them to learn how to swim. (Drop you in the water, move far away from you and hope you don’t drown.)
4. Take a flight or a boat to a place you have not been to before.
Whether it is to the Statue of Liberty, Buffalo, New York or to Moscow, the experience one gets with traveling is amazing! The world is big and we have a short time on it, so if you have the money, use it to go to Florida or a place you’ve been dying to visit. I recommend you visit New Zealand if you like nature. But I also recommend that you start saving up if you would like to make the most of your trip.
5. Go “On The Road”
May your inner Jack Kerouac shine through! Hopefully, you have money to do so! Drive with the people you love to places you’ve never been. Remember to take a lot of pictures, smell the aroma of the swamps and nuclear plants you pass by. I recommend not to take highly addictive drugs and drink yourself to death.
6. Run A Lemonade Stand
You don’t have to be under 12 and adorable to sell lemonade. You can be older, wiser and grumpier as you sell your cups of lemonade for 50 cents each. Better yet, be more creative and maybe create new frappe flavors. I’ve never seen a Butterfinger frappe in my life, so comment if you know where I can get one.
7. Go To Concerts And Festivals.
Finally, you can stay out late (unless you have a 9-5 work day) and not worry about school work (unless you are taking summer classes). Why not have fun and go stalk, I mean, devote your time to meeting your favorite music artists? Also, Afropunk is coming up in August and I recommend that you get your tickets now. Eventbrite has a lot of tickets to go around, why not make the most of it? Better yet, just visit your favorite artists’ websites.
8. Take a kickboxing, yoga, or any class that requires physical activity.
I know that it will probably be the hottest summer ever, but that doesn’t mean that you should stay indoors with an AC. As a freshman, I believe the Freshman 15 is true, but then again I love food, so maybe it isn’t true. Either way, it is good to take part in physical activity because your body releases endorphins aka “happy hormones.” If you are me, however, you will release "Fuck My Life" hormones. Just involve yourself in some physical activity. If not for yourself, do it for Michelle (Obama).
9. Grab some friends and “visit” Times Square for the umpteenth time.
If you are a New Yorker, you know exactly what I am talking about. Times Square to us is like the aunt we have avoided all year. But have to look at her face to face and receive her sloppy red lipstick kisses at Thanksgiving. At night, it is beautiful, especially when you see the amazement on the faces of tourists. In addition, there is a lot to do there like: eating at Bubba Gump, getting a caricature drawn of you, paying for your name to be written in beautiful, yet simple squiggly lines and saying excuse me a bunch of times to people who are lost either in its beauty or just plain lost. Hey, maybe you’ll meet someone hot, form a friendship and have a legit reason to use #4.
10. Watch Award Shows
As some of you know, award shows run throughout the year. You either change the channel when it comes on, miss the televised ceremony, watch alone, watch it with someone or in my case, watch it on the day your family wants to play the “Who Can Be the Loudest” game. Newsday has made a list of award shows that are soon to air, so take a look and write down the dates on your calendar.
11. Go To Facebook Events
Do I even have to go into detail about this?
12. Chillax
It has already been a long year, why do I have to do so much? Why can I just sink into a big, comfy chair, get a glass of lemonade from whoever took #6’s advice, sit under a palm tree after and feel the breeze after using #4 or #5 and just...chillax? We only have a few months before it’s “Work, Work, Work, Work, Work, Work." Can we get a break?
13. Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone
You have ample time to take risks...just don’t die. Self-discovery takes a lifetime, so take some of the summer’s time to do so. Read a book even though you are a “bibliophile,” watch a horror movie even though you are scared of them, use YOLO even though the phrase is dead, go parasailing in Mexico after using #4, kiss your crush and watch them file a restraining order against you. Try not to cry while watching "Monster’s Inc.," eat Reeses with an EpiPen in hand because your peanut allergies is a dick that needs to know that you are not a force to be reckoned with (I do not recommend this), and whatever else scares you. Just do something that is out of the ordinary for you.
14. Last, But Not Least….Binge Watch and Watch Movies
To be honest, I feel like this was at the top of most people’s lists. You finally have time to watch a new show or continue where you left off. In addition, there are some awesome weird movies coming out like Sausage Party and Swiss Army Man. Click the titles of the movies mentioned for their trailers and find some more on your own.
In the end, just make the most of the summer and try not to get arrested.
