As summer approaches I have given a lot of thought to the things I would like to do. Here's a list that I came up with of things to accomplish during summer break.

A weekend trip in Chicago

One of my favorite activities is heading down to the city with my best friend Meaghan. Nothing is better than taking the 10:20 train down to the city and spending the rest of the day exploring with your best friend. We normally just spend a day in the city, but this summer I want to spend a whole weekend walking around the city and trying out new restaurants and visiting different scenic locations.

Hiking

I have never hiked before and it is definitely something I’d like to try. This summer I hope Meaghan and I have time to spend a day or two down at Starved Rock State Park and hike and enjoy some nice weather. Maybe even have a picnic or go horseback riding as well.

Go to the zoo

I haven’t been to the zoo in ages. I have fond memories of going when I was a child and I think this summer I am going to try and convince my parents to take a trip to the zoo.

Go mini-golfing

I suck at mini-golfing, but who cares? I'm going anyways.

Read new books

One of my goals for the summer is to read one book per week. I have a whole list of things I want to read and I’m super excited to dive into some new stories.

Throw a pool party

This year I’m thinking about throwing a pool party. I haven’t had one in such a long time and it would be amazing to have a party with both my high school friends and my college friends.

Catching up with high school friends

I only have a few friends from high school that I have remained in touch with since graduation. This summer I am going to make an effort to get together with them more often and catch up.

Clean out my room

I haven’t really cleaned out my room since before my senior year of high school. One of my goals is to thoroughly clean out my closets and donate anything that I haven’t used or needed since high school. Why keep the stuff around if you don’t touch it?

Spend some time with my parents

Being away from home for most of the year, I have realized how much I miss my parents and how much I miss just being around them. This summer I am going to try to spend more time with them rather than locking myself in my room.

I’m definitely looking forward to being done with the school year and relaxing, but most of all I’m most excited to go home and see my parents and friends. Hopefully, this summer will be full of fun memories that I can look back on when I’m stressing next year at school.