Whether you’re tired of spending every day of summer at your local pool, or just hearing the question “movies or shopping?” makes your eyes roll into the back of your head, this list will help you come up with activities to do that are slightly less conventional than the norm. No more will you find yourself hopping from food place to food place with your friends because you have no idea what else to do. Use the activities below to create hilarious summer memories with your best friends and avoid watching every episode of "The Office" on Netflix over the course of a week.

1. Bowling – While this may be a staple summer activity for some, I rarely ever think to go. Challenge your friends, significant other, parents, or other relatives to a best two out of three game - loser buys dessert afterwards. Bonus points for going cosmic bowling!
2. Visit the library – I don’t even want to think about the amount of times I’ve spent money on movies and books while letting the library completely slip my mind. Not only do you save money, but also taking a trip to the library can be fun for a low-key rainy afternoon. Challenge yourself to read a book on a subject you’ve never heard of.
3. Drive-in movies – Going to the cinema or watching movies at home can sometimes feel like a waste of a warm summer night. Grab some friends for a late night drive-in movie, or better yet, catch a double feature!
4. Live music events – While summer concerts and music festivals are an obvious summer activity, they can get expensive and are sometimes too far to travel for less dedicated fans. Keep your eyes out for local events that feature live music. If anything, it will provide exciting background music while you walk around with friends.
5. Scout out local museums – Conduct a Google search to find all of the museums in your area for something new and interesting to do. If you feel like you’ve already been to all of them a billion times, make it into a scavenger hunt or some other type of challenge to look at the museum in a new way.
6. Zoos & Aquariums – Because who wouldn’t want to spend the day with a bunch of adorable animals?
7. Festivals and Street fairs – It’s that perfect time of year when Catholic grade schools start having their festivals and all kinds of different street fairs occur. Stop into one to ride a few rides, shop around, win some prizes or munch on a funnel cake…or four.
8. Flea Markets – College students especially are always scouting out cheap apartment furniture and decorations. Try looking around a flea market for cool antique décor or cheap used furniture that still has some character.
9. Hiking Challenge – I read in the paper recently that here in Ohio, many people are taking on the challenge of walking all the trails in the Five Rivers MetroParks. If you’re not from the area, try this with other parks and hiking trails where you live. Bring a friend along for a good talk or venture alone with your favorite music or audiobook.
10. Laser tag – It’s not just for preteen boys. Grab a big group of friends, make two teams, and go out for pizza afterward.
11. Visit an arcade – Whether it’s Chuck E. Cheese, Dave & Buster’s or a couple of ski ball machines in the back of the bowling alley, arcade games can actually be a fun pastime.
12. Write! – This is an obvious option for me because writing is my passion, but it would be a great thing to do for anyone who is suffering from summer boredom. Write how you feel. Write about what you want in life; write about what you need in life. Make up characters, make those characters interact, make them fall in love. Write a poem and use your favorite words. Make ugly words sound pretty. Develop a talent you didn’t know you had.
13. Start journaling – Keeping a journal is a great thing to do over the summer because it takes up time and records your memories. You can use your journal like a diary, record your favorite quotes, make a photo journal of your summer adventures, or document your dreams and what you think they mean. Make lists: to-do lists, lists of your favorite things, or bucket lists. Write about anything you want, but keep it in a journal.
14. “Clean out” your Pinterest – As we learned from Lauren Vogelsmeier’s article last week, there a ton of things we see on Pinterest, pin, and never look at again. Why not? Put your favorite pins to the PinterTEST! Go through your Pinterest and try some of the recipes, makeup tips, nail art, DIYs and room organization tips you saved three summers ago. If they don’t work, unpin them. If they do, congrats! You just spent your time in a fun and valuable way.
15. Participate in a Chopped Challenge! – We’re all guilty of sitting on the couch for hours watching Chopped marathons....Or at least, I am. Gather up five or six friends. The best cooks of the bunch will be competitors, while the others can be judges. Use the ingredients in your mystery box to make an awesome meal! If you’re by yourself, have a friend text you three random ingredients or pick from the pantry and fridge with your eyes closed.
16. Set a goal and accomplish it – I, for example, have a goal of reading 50 books in 2015, so I spend most of my free time reading. If books aren’t your thing, set a goal for working out, learning a language, or working to save up for something you really want or need. When you constantly have something to accomplish, life won’t feel so boring.
17. Break out the board games – If Trouble and Monopoly are too overplayed for you, go to a bookstore, gaming store or comic book store and pick out a board game you’ve never heard of before. Board games can actually be very interesting, complex, and fun! Make some homemade milkshakes or pop some popcorn and chow down while you play.
18. Prep some playlists – If you’re anything like me, you have over 5,000 songs in your iTunes library and about 4,000 of them go un-listened to. Browse your artists and songs and group them into playlists. Pick summery themes like “Roadtrip Rock” or “Poolside Tunes” to create your personalized summer soundtrack.
19. Just RELAX – I find that often times when I’m bored, it’s because I’m used to a fast-paced lifestyle. If I get a free afternoon between attending summer classes, working at the library, and writing for my internship, I start to feel restless. While you may be used to a “Go, go, go!” lifestyle, it might be best for you to take a breather. Run a bath, re-watch your favorite movie, go to a coffee shop and read a new book, or just take a short nap. Utilize this time to recharge for the rest of your busy schedule!

So there you have it, the start to your summer bucket list! Hopefully these ideas help, or at least spark your imagination for other fun things to do during these next few months of sun. However you choose to spend your time, focus on making memories and valuing your relationships. And of course, don’t forget your sunscreen!