It's finally here: Summer. The time for drinking lemonade, skipping along the shoreline, and wearing dresses. However, there are so many more things that one could do during the summer! It's important to start thinking about the future and what you can do during the summer to create a better one for yourself. Here are a couple of tips:

1. Find a Job

It's very important to find a job during the summer to be able to make money for when you go back to school. Plus, a lot of restaurants, retail, and many other stores are hiring the most during the summer and will gladly hire you.

2. Volunteer

Volunteering looks great on your resume! It gives you a lot of experience, a variety of different places to gain said experience, and is very flexible in hours. While you're going and making money at a different job, volunteering will work around your hours and you will still get the experience and resume-building that you need.

3. Find an Internship

There are many different kinds of internships to choose from. Whether it's a paid one or not, an internship allows for a great amount of experience, it is a huge resume builder, and you can get your foot-in-the-door, so to speak, at that company. Later in life, once you've interned there long enough, you might be able to get an actual position on the job and begin to get paid.

4. Save your Money

This is very important! I know that it's summer and you want to spend all of your money on miscellaneous items such as icecream, flip-flops, and movie tickets. Although this may sometimes be a good idea, in the long run, it's not. Have a plan. Keep most of your money saved in your bank account for college, and keep a little bit left over to be used at water parks and on tasty desserts.

5. Meet up with Friends

Over the years at college, you've probably made numerous amounts of friends. However, these friends might not all live in the same city, or even state, that you do. It is important to keep these connections alive and to hang out with these amazing people every once in a while. Therefore, you'll miss them less and, once you get back to college, you'll be able to start from where you left off.

Whether it be working or basking in the sun, the summer is a great time to take advantage of the many opportunities you have around you! Make sure to save up and work, but never forget to have fun.