Summer Break Bucket List

Classes have ended, finals are over, and you know what that means—summer is finally here again. While this means warmer weather, vacations, and fun, it also means managing a summer job, catching up on things you were too busy for in the school year, and preparing to go back to school. Here’s a list of things—both fun and necessary—for you to do to have the most productive summer possible!

1. Work hard at your summer job: Even seemingly unimportant jobs like waitressing or working the cash register at an ice cream shop are important when it comes to references. It’s vital to leave a good impression on your boss so that you can put him or her down as a reference on future job applications. Also, try to fit a good amount of hours in, because you can never have enough extra cash when the school year comes around!

2. Sort through your clothes: Keep the items you know you’ll wear again, donate clothes that don’t fit anymore, and throw away clothes that are torn or in bad shape. This will make it much easier to only pack what you need when fall comes around.

3. Plan a vacation: Whether it’s to the beach with your family or a road trip across the country with your friends, it’s important to relax a little bit. After a long, difficult year, vacation can be exactly what you need to rejuvenate for next semester.

4. Volunteer in your community: Volunteering not only looks great on your resume, it gets you involved and allows you to make an impact on your community. Volunteer at a local animal shelter, day care center, or library, or start your own project!

5. Meet new people: One of the best things about college is constantly meeting new people. Stepping out of your comfort zone by volunteering, starting a new job, or getting involved in activities you wouldn’t usually do allows you to make friends and have new experiences.

6. Make to-do lists: Even if it’s only one thing a day, getting things done over the summer will make you feel productive and decrease the amount of things to do in the end of August.

7. Read books: Whether they’ve been sitting on your shelf, waiting to be read, for years, or just lent to you by a friend, it’s time to tackle that personal reading list. A half hour of reading when you wake up or right before you go to bed will relax you and keep your mind fresh for learning come September.

8. Relax and have fun: For college students, summer is primarily a time for rejuvenation before school starts back up. So, catch up with your friends, watch movies, and get a good night’s sleep every once in a while. You’ll miss it when you’re back at school!