Summertime is the time for spending endless hours outside and going on carefree road trips to wherever. One of my personal favorite things to do over the summer is to adventure to new places and try new things overall.

This past weekend I went upstate to New Paltz with my parents and hiked along a trail in Minnewaska State Park. I climbed rocks, hills and found myself sitting on top of a waterfall on the way back as a pit stop. Then we ate in a local restaurant in New Paltz village and strolled along the streets by the shops for a while before heading home. Days like those are exactly what summer is about, and I have a whole slew of things I want to try this summer that I can't wait to do.

As I was laying in bed the night after our upstate adventure, it struck me that not only are these adventures incredibly fun, but they're also super important. Living on Long Island, we're incredibly spoiled. At no time are you more than a half hour from a beach, we're not that far from New York City (and we don't even have to drive there), and we even have a more mellow side of life to check out on the east end.

With all of this at our fingertips, it's sometime tempting to just float around in our little bubbles all the time. But the reality is that there's a whole world out there that we'd miss out on if we didn't adventure to new places now and then. Life everywhere isn't like it is here, and it's really important that we get to experience it. I love Long Island, I truly do, but I also love road trips and adventures because it opens my eyes to different ways of seeing things.

Another thing adventures help with is the ability to try new things. A lot of people live a routine life. Every day is the same from beginning to end and nothing ever changes. In life, it's important to be able to try different things every now and then. Maybe not every day, but certainly more than never.

That's why summer adventures are so important. Going new places and trying new things on a recreational front will help anyone open their mind a little more and see, for example, that maybe they can change the way some things are done at work that will actually end up being a better method. Or maybe they'll just help you become a more adaptable person. Either way, adventures can do wonders for anyone and it's important to expand your horizons, too. It'll make your favorite restaurant running out of your usual seem like so much less of the end of the world.

And while huge life-changing transitions may still be problematic and anxiety provoking, as they are for me, the little changes that life throws at you will become way easier to handle, and you'll thank yourself in the end.

So come on; it's only June and there are months of summer fun waiting to be had. Go on some adventures and make your summer that much more amazing. I promise it's worth the risk.