Growing up, summer was always good to me besides those couple of books and summer work packets I would have to force myself to complete. But besides that, I have pretty great memories of everyone in our neighborhood playing outside on those hot summer days. Signs of sweet happiness would fill our faces when we heard that faint melody in the distance: the ice cream man. As we got older, those memorable summers began to fade each year. People left or were busy and those summers didn’t really seem like “summer” anymore.

Soon high school and college would come around and little did I know what that meant: summer classes and work (because unlike school, jobs don’t stop when summer started). Not that either of those things are bad, but they definitely do limit your free time during the summer. Back then, we didn’t have iPads, we didn’t sit around the house and we definitely didn’t have phones to be texting all day. We would play basketball in the streets, have water balloon fights and use chalk to draw a city in our little neighborhood.

I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t fall into the trap. Don’t fall into the trap that today’s world wants you to succumb to. Don’t buy the new video game, don’t stay glued to your phone and definitely don’t sit around and watch Netflix all day.

Here are just a few ole’ ideas to get your summers back.

Take a bike ride around your neighborhood.

Find a new book and go lay in the sun.

Lay in the sun.

Have a water balloon fight.

Go for a hike, but don’t forget a bottle of water.

Try a new restaurant.

Go to the beach for a day.

Camp outside with your friends.

Have a bonfire and make s'mores.

Build a fort in your living room.

Make an obstacle course outside and challenge your friends.

Go for a walk, jog or run and take a different route than normal.

Go fishing.

Go swimming.

Catch lightning bugs.

Go to a baseball game.

Have a picnic.

Go visit a museum.

Volunteer at an animal shelter or soup kitchen.

Have a family game night.

Write a letter to a soldier.

I guess what I’m basically saying is don’t waste away your summer. Yes, I know that times have changed, but let that inner child in you shine. When you hear that ice cream man outside, run out and buy yourself an ice cream. Make the most of your summer because before you know it, you’ll be saying, “Wow, summer went by so fast!” And then eventually you’ll be wondering where all of your summers went.

No matter how strange your friends think you are for building a fort or wanting to camp outside, remind them of the importance of not surrendering to the TV or your phone. Remind them that you can be 17, 29 or 53, but society today is missing out on everything we grew up loving. Show them what it means to live again.