August is here. The stores have been efficiently and fully stocked with the new styles of backpacks, clothes and pencils; everything that you could want to make you feel better about returning to that great place of knowledge and learning they call school. But after your wonderful adventures of the summer, it's hard to think about being stuck inside studying. So, here's some ideas of how to spend these last shreds of summer.

Binge-Watch Netflix.

Obviously, this is not an activity that one can successfully accomplish during the school year without feeling guilty about the work that they neglected to do. Trust me, I've done it and it resulted in rushing to get an assignment done in the last hour before it was due. So, in this countdown to the start of the new school year, take time to sit inside all day, relax, eat popcorn and enjoy one of the many new TV shows that have arrived on the Netflix scene. They have so many new original series, how could you not find one that you'd like to binge?

Try for a last beach day.

Want to cement a good tan to arrive back to school with before you grow pale again? Go outside! Or, even better, take a trip to the beach. Get your fill of the warm sun that pours fire into the grains of sand beneath your feet and the refreshing water that stretches out before you in a beautiful blue scene. Build the last turrets on your sandcastle, take your final dive off the pier or enjoy the last smells of the bonfire. You'll remember those carefree moments when you are sitting enclosed within the walls of academia come fall.

Get your fill of ice cream.

Ah, ice cream. The ultimate taste of summer. The creamy, cold treat that slides down into your happy belly. Sure, you can eat this dessert at any time of the year and it'll still taste good. But ice cream in the summer represents those delicious evenings under the setting sun, chatting and laughing with your friends and family. Get you last taste of this summer memory maker before it becomes a study-break treat or a dessert of procrastination.

Take a last weekend getaway.

Go anywhere! Just find that last free weekend in your summer schedule and take a trip to that place that you vowed that you'd visit in the early months of summer but never got around to. Whether it's a fun day trip to the zoo or a weekend carelessly wandering around a new city, just do it! For you Michiganders out there, I recommend taking your last getaway Up North. Relaxing by one of our Great Lakes and watching the colors of the sunset spread over the water is the perfect final salute to a great summer.

Finish up your summer reading list.

As an avid reader and English major, I recommend finishing up any of your fun summer reads. You know that when school rolls around and your homework load piles up with school reading, you're not going to have much time left over to take an hour to read your own book. I've tried to always read before bed, but over the years, as my school reading has increased, I've been so tired by the end of the day that I don't ever finish my pleasure reads. So, take that last summer book to the beach or carry it with you as you leisurely take your time at the coffee shop. Savor those last words of the stories you chose to indulge in.