School’s officially over. There are some typical summer things to do such as road tripping to Tijuana, backpacking through Europe, visiting family or vacationing in Hawaii.
While it’s easy to get into the spirit of messing around and forgetting about school in the next three months, it’s best to not get completely sidetracked.
Whether you’re graduating, or stuck here for another three years there are a few things you can do to keep your summer productive and not boring.
You can start with getting an internship. Interning over the summer is hard work, but you’ll be learning a lot, meeting new people and getting ahead in your career. That can’t be too bad right?
A summer internship is one of the best ways to keep yourself busy over the summer months. Working at an internship during the week makes it worthwhile when you go out on the weekends with your friends.
Look into what ever your prospective career is and talk to some of your professors to see where internship opportunities are available. At the very least, you’ll be networking, and maybe even get to partake in some work parties.
You should also make a workout plan. Every New Year’s Eve the most popular resolution is to work out and get a great six-pack by summer. Even though summer’s just around the corner, it’s not too late to get your abs a little more toned.
There are plenty of abdominal workouts that have been popular among students such as Insanity and P90x that seem to be effective.
But if you don’t want to splurge just to get a workout video, a Google search will point you in the right direction and get your body looking the way you want. And don’t forget, a workout plan includes healthy eating habits too.
You can also try making a short-term bucket list. Go see the movies you always hear about but never watch, go read the books that have been sitting on your shelf all semester.
Go buy tickets for those shows you need to make up for since you missed Coachella, or visit the bars you’ve been neglecting during finals. You’ll be doing all the things you’ve wanted to do all semester.
Finally, try doing something you’ve never done before. Do something that’s not on your list. Get out of your comfort zone and pick a new hobby.
Take a hip-hop dance class at a studio, perform at an open mic night with one of your friends, hike up to the Hollywood sign or spend the day at Venice Beach laying out in the sun.
At the end of the summer, you’ll remember doing something
you never tried before.
As much as everyone’s going to try and live it up this summer, just remember to have fun and be safe.
Everyone will probably be yelling YOLO after every beer chug and shot taken this summer, so it’s going to be pretty hard to resist the temptation to forget all of your responsibilities. But, you should definitely let loose.
Just do something productive after. Whether it’s knocking out more adventures or getting a head start in your career, get started and just do it.
And just remember, no one ever remembers those nights they got plenty of rest.
Sarah Ehlers is a senior journalism major and a contributing writer for the Daily 49er.
