Summer Ideas To Do With Your Hometown Friends

Summer Ideas To Do With Your Hometown Friends

Here are few ideas my friends and I have planned for this summer.

Michelle Martinez
Michelle Martinez May 22, 2019
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As you know, I have been in school in New York for the past few months. I have only seen my friends during the one week I went home for Spring break, but that wasn't enough time for us to really hang out much since I was also catching up with family. Now that I am back in California for the Summer my friends and I plan to do things we didn't get to do.

1. Travel Jar

The furthest place my friends and I have been to together is San Diego, which is only three hours away from where we live. This Summer we plan on taking it further into some different cities in California. We decided to make a travel jar in which we color code places based on the distance that we plan to go to.

We have three colors: Red for different major cities in California, Pink for different U.S. states, and Purple for different countries. We plan to choose one of each color each year and plan three trips that fit our schedules. For Summer we are doing our red and pink trips.

We plan on going to San Francisco for a few days together, and I'm excited because I love it there. We also plan on going to Las Vegas, Nevada in August before school starts for my 21st birthday.

2. Scenic Hikes

We made a list of hiking trails with beautiful scenic views that we plan to go to once every two weeks. These trails are mostly along the coast from Malibu to Laguna Beach. We also added some trails that would be fun to do at night. Hiking with friends is a great way to be active and have fun at the same time.

It can also be a great opportunity to capture great pictures with your friends!

3. Concerts and Festivals 

In addition, we have made a list of concerts and festivals that we want to go to. We each have different taste in music, so we all agreed to each choose a concert or festival and we all have to go to it. So far we plan on going to Hard Summer in Fontana, CA, Northern Nights Music Festival in Cook Valley, CA, and the 2019 Wango Tango Concert in Carson, CA to see Taylor Swift, Jonas Brothers, Halsey, and other artists.

4. Girls Night

We all take turn hosting girls night where we watch movies, have snacks, drink, and just hang out together. Since we always take so long to decide on that movie to watch we each made a list so that we would be ready for the next sleepover.

Last week, my friends came over and we made some drinks, talked, and watched Crazy, Stupid, Love. Sometimes spending the night in is more fun than going out and it's just needed.

5. Disneyland and the OC Fair

These are two places that are more of an every Summer thing we do. We have to go to Disneyland together at least once every Summer, this is significant to us because this is where I and a couple of my closest friends became close friends.

My two friends became a couple of my best friends after we all I ditched my group (which I wasn't even close with anyway) when my friend Crystal invited me to hang out with her group on grad night. We hung out throughout the whole day and eventually it was down to just Crystal, Stephanie, and I at the end of the night.

We have been close friends ever since. The OC fair is just a place ever person from SoCal needs to go at least once, the main attraction is the butterfly room where you are in an outdoor netted area where there are hundreds of butterflies flying around and you get to be in close contact with them.

6. Sports Events

My friends and I aren't really much into sports but attending a sports event is always fun! My family bought season tickets for the Los Angeles Dodgers so I will be taking my friends with me a few times. I am a huge Dodger fan so I have been going to the games since I was little and I always have a great time at the stadium.

Baseball is like the only sport my family and I are into. Also, I have a friend named Ciara who is a cheerleader for the LA Clippers so she gets free tickets to the basketball games and she'll sometimes invite me. I don't really follow basketball but it is always fun going to see a game at the Staples Center with her, or even with other friends just to go watch her cheer.

7. Matching Tattoos

I have a few friends who I plan to get matching tattoos with and this Summer would be the perfect time to finally go do it. I recently got one with my friend Ciara during Spring break, so I want to get more with other friends who I also promised I would get one with. I plan on getting a tattoo with my sister, my cousin, and my best friend this Summer.

Michelle Martinez
Michelle Martinez May 22, 2019
At Syracuse University

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To My Best Friend Who Doesn’t Know How Strong She Is

Always better together.
Sarah Richman
Sarah Richman Dec 5, 2017
60050
views

To the one I know I will always have by my side,

First off, thank you. Thanks for dealing with all my shit: my mess, drama, tears, and weirdness. There are so many reasons why you are my best friend; you are funny, amazing, kind and unbelievably supportive. I am beyond lucky to have someone that gets me and has been there with me through the best of times and the worst of times.

You are strong.

Life is difficult; I think we have both realized that by now. Whether you believe me or not you are kicking everything being thrown at you in the ass. You have been through everything and more and have always come out of it a stronger, and better person. You are never alone and you know that; we have been there for each other for years and that will never end.

You are special.

I have never met anyone with a bigger heart than you; you sympathize with anyone that comes to you for advice. You take things to heart and look at the world in a unique and beautiful way. You appreciate the little things in life, watching Dance movies with your mom, a late night snack at Taco Bell, driving with the top down and dancing like no one is watching.

You are beautiful.

You are way more beautiful than you think. You've got softness to you that is calming, a smile that is contagious, and a gorgeous girl with so much to offer. You are filled with love and compassion, an amazing writer, dancer and overall an amazing and beautiful person.

You can get through anything.

I know you are going through a hard time right now, but look at how far you've come. You have gone through way worse and you will get through this just like you have in the past. You will become even more powerful than you already are. You are experienced and that's part of what makes me love you so much. We have gone through a lot together and we know that whatever life throws at us we can handle it.

I am always here.

Your hardship is my hardship, but keep your head up high just like I know you can. You have so much love in your life, from your family, your friends and me. I love you, I have never had a friend like you and I am so grateful every day because of it. You are going to get through this. You are going to get through it because you are, powerful, you are beautiful and you are strong.

~Written with love and appreciation for the most amazing friend I could ever ask for~

Cover Image Credit: Sarah Richman
Sarah Richman
Sarah Richman Dec 5, 2017
At University of Michigan

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How To Cope With A Best Friend Breakup


Breaking up with a boyfriend is one thing, but breaking up with your best friend is a whole new level of heartbreak.

Lily Chailosky
Lily Chailosky Jun 20, 2019
662
views

We all know breakups can be tough, but when that breakup happens to be between you and your best friend, things reach a new level of heartbreak. I met my best friend junior year of high school after our Spanish teacher randomly assigned us to be partners; we struggled so much in that class but in the end, we truly became inseparable. When senior year rolled around we were still close as ever; people would often joke that we were sisters because we looked and acted so much alike. We would go on little dates together, go to parties together, and were always the first person we called when something "major happened."

When my best friend's boyfriend of four years cheated on her while we were spring breaking in Europe, it became my duty to make her feel better; I would randomly drop off flowers and little notes to her house, spend countless hours just listening to her cry and vent, and even stopped talking to people associated with her boyfriend so as to show my "support." All of these things were no big deal to me considering I loved this girl like a sister; whatever she needed I was there to give that to her.

Things soon took a sharp turn when we entered not only the same college but the same sorority. While I was struggling with the social aspect of FSU, my best friend soon found new best friends. When I started having major issues with my boyfriend, I would automatically text/call my best friend as she did with me, but instead of support, I got the sense that she was passive and uninterested. Our little dates and goofy inside jokes disappeared and reappeared between her and her new friends, and my comfortableness around her soon turned into insecurity.

Coming to terms with the fact that the girl I knew everything about is now basically a stranger was a hard one to overcome; I didn't want to accept the fact that my best friend decided it was time to find new ones. It's heartbreaking knowing that the special things you shared with a person are now being shared with others, and it's hard to accept the fact that you aren't wanted or needed by the one person you thought would be by your side forever.

Since school has ended I think I have accepted the fact that we're no longer what we used to be. Of course, it still stings when I see social media posts with her new, college friends, but I just have to remind myself that this is part of life and I just have to move on. I will forever cherish the memories I made with her, but it's time to acknowledge that they were made with someone in my past, not with someone in my present.

Lily Chailosky
Lily Chailosky Jun 20, 2019
At Florida State University

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