We all have summer goals. This is just a fact of life. One of my friends is trying to read 30 books before school starts, some people want to do road trips or even international traveling, others are just concerned about watching every season of "Orange is the New Black" as many times as possible. Hey, I get it! My goal this summer was to work as much as possible and read the "Harry Potter" series (for the first time). And I myself have become obsessed with this season of "The Bachelorette," but what if we did something outside of the usual summer trappings? Something that wasn’t reading or travel or work or Netflix? Here are five ideas for getting over the routine summer slump and maybe doing some personal growth.
1. Register to vote
If the recent political environment has shown us anything it is that we need to be actively involved in our governments if change is to happen. I don’t even need to think too far back for examples where increased involvement by people in our generation may have brought about extremely different results; Brexit, the Orlando Crisis and subsequent gun control legislation, the Presidential primaries/race, Brock Turner. The Millennial vote is so important but it all starts with registering. If you’re not registered, not only can you not vote in any elections (local, congressional, presidential, etc.), but you can’t sign petitions for things you feel are important and your personal concerns are less likely to be taken seriously by elected representatives. I recommend that you begin this process in the summer while you don’t have to worry about writing papers or reading 6 chapters of your text book by tomorrow. It can sometimes be a tricky or time consuming process, depending on your situation. At one point I had 3 addresses and no permanent state of residence so believe me, I know.
2. Organize your computer files
This may sound dumb but seriously, do it. We all know how it goes; you start the semester with all the best intentions of keeping your documents neat and orderly and by the second month of school you’ve written 15 papers and worked on seven group projects and you don’t have time to figure out where everything should go so you just save it to your computer and hope for the best. Now multiply all of that by however many years of school and you end up with a nice little mess. My recommendation is to create folders for each class, label them with the professor and semester, and then go ham. I did this a couple of weeks ago and it literally took me four days. So if you’re bored this should take your mind off of it for a while.
3. Write letters
This one is a little tricky because you have to find someone to write letters to. I personally have had a pen pal for about 4 years and it’s such a great experience. If you can find someone who agrees to be your pen pal then GO FOR IT. Otherwise, you can write letters to relatives who live far away, school friends that you miss and won’t see for a while, military personnel (there several programs that pass on letters to military members overseas), or even your congress member, governor, or other elected official/representative. Don’t feel pressured to write them a novel length letter either. A card or note is a good start and getting any kind of mail will brighten everyone’s day. This is also nice because you will more than likely receive something in return!
4. Explore. By yourself
Exploring is fun with friends but doing something intentionally alone can be a truly rewarding experience. you get to see how you genuinely react to certain situations or places without concern of your friends or people with you. You get to go places or do things that maybe someone else would think are weird and maybe you think they’re weird too but you aren’t judged for it because you’re by yourself. You get to take as many pictures as you want or no pictures at all. You get to take as much or as little time as you want doing whatever it is and there is no one there to tell you otherwise. I love doing things by myself and you don’t have to go far away to explore either. A trip to the library, a new art class, trying new coffee shops or enjoying old ones that you’ve never been to alone are all great ways to get to know yourself a little better. Another benefit of being alone is that you can observe everyone around you without being consumed with trying to entertain someone you’re with. It is a broadening experience.
5. Try a new diet
I use the term “diet” very loosely. I only mean way of eating, not attempt to lose or gain weight. Maybe you’ve always wanted to be a vegetarian or want to try no dairy or eating more fruit. Maybe you think being vegan is your calling. Now is the perfect time to try it! during the school year it is so hard to really take control of your eating habits and make drastic changes. You eat what you can when you can as a matter of survival. During the summer you have an opportunity to really focus on what you want out of the way you eat and to employ the changes necessary without trying to negotiate Caf food (which is a total pain in the neck). This doesn’t have to be a permanent change either. Maybe you try eating that way for a couple of weeks and then decide it’s not for you. That’s cool. You tried and now you’ll never wonder what if. And isn’t that what summer is really about?
