A College Student’s Guide To Having A Great Summer

Summer is the season that students -with no exception- looking forward to all year long. We all see ourselves under the sun, hanging around with friends, drinking cocktails, going to the beach, taking road trips and doing many other fun summer things. 

It turns out it is not always as we imagine. Many of us will need a summer job while the rest of us will be spending the warm and sunny days stuck in our parents’ house. But hey, that's not the end of the world! Since you won't have a bunch of homework and papers to hand in, make the best out of your free time!

Read on to find a list of fun things you can try this summer!

Get Organized

I don't want to sound like your mom asking you to be responsible, to act as an adult and so on and so forth…but it is actually very effective! Try keeping an agenda, a calendar or an assistant (you wish...) to organize your summer job hours and spot all the free time you have left. If you’re staying at your parents’ house, try using it to write down all those things you never have time to do during final exams. You’ll be impressed at how many hours you actually have and how much you can get done!

Plan A Fun Evening At Your Place

Call those friends you haven’t seen in ages and plan board-games night at your house. Ask everyone to bring something to eat or drink, and you can get a board game or a deck of cards. There are many card games you can try for groups of all sizes. For instance, try poker, rummy, crazy eights, etc. You can Google the rules and spend a night full of laughs and fun. If you’re looking for a board game, I've had pretty successful nights playing Cranium or Pictionary - highly suggested!

Lunch With Friends

Almost every job out there will give you a lunch break. Try calling a friend to meet up for lunch! Use the Social Schedule feature in your student life app, OOHLALA to know if and when your friends are available. You can grab something to eat and sit in a park, or just go to a nice place with a terrace. You won’t regret bathing under the sun even if it’s just for 45 minutes.  

If you don't work, call one of those friends who are! They’ll be happy to see a different face and place during their lunch hour.

Go For Movie Night

Whether you work or not, everyone has a few free of hours to spend at the movies. Right now, there are many new releases with great reviews. Call your friends and plan a night out at the movies. 

Do Some Local Tourism

If you’re very busy working over the summer, make the best out of your weekends or your free days. Talk to your friends and plan a short road trip to a city or village nearby. If you think about it, you'll realize you probably don’t know as much about the region you live in as you think you do. Go to a tourist information center near your place and ask about the fun things people do when they visit your city. You can try going somewhere just 2 hours away by car and you’ll find great things to do.

Find A New Hobby

Don’t wait for New Year’s to get started at something you’ve always wanted to try. Join a football team, sign up for a yoga class or start those guitar lessons you’ve always wanted to take! Before school starts up again, find a club or organization on campus you'd like to join. You'll find a list of student groups on your school's website or on the 'Groups & Clubs' section of your campus app! Even if you’re busy, you’ll always find a couple of hours a week to get it done.

Read The Book Everyone’s Talking About

Even if you’re not a reading person, you should give it a try. There are many books out there that are not too long to read and easily edible. Use the free time you have on the bus or metro wisely - buy that book everyone seems to be talking about and give it a chance. You never know, you might end up surprisingly captivated by the book!