Grab yourself a job and get some experience:
Jobs are a great opportunity to pad your résumé and provide you with some valuable skills and experience, as well as a little extra dough. Forbes.com recommends a few options for the summer that will help you make the most of your time.
Freelance writing:
Whether blogging or submitting articles to publications, practice will always help you improve. Since it is freelance, you don’t have to worry about a set schedule, and can take on as much or as little as you would like.
Plus, the money can be pretty good, even over $250 apiece if you’re really good.
Serving tables:
Although often difficult, being a waiter can be very rewarding. You will be able to improve your “people skills,” by dealing with all sorts of customers.
You’ll be increase your ability to deal with situations under stress and improve your memory.
Nanny/Babysitter:
If you’re planning on doing nothing during the summer anyway, what better way to do so than with kids?
You must be responsible, dependable, adaptable and creative—all great traits to have on an résumé. Besides, they’ll be like the little siblings you always questioned wanting.
DIY:
If you have better ideas of how to spend your summer, rather than waiting tables or lifeguarding at the pool, go ahead and release your inner entrepreneur.
Create your own paid summer pastime, whether by mowing peoples’ lawns, walking dogs or serving as a human scarecrow. It’s up to you, really, and your parents will be so proud to see their baby bringing home the green.
Internship:
If you get the chance at an internship that will build upon your skills and further you on your career path, go for it.
Although many are not paid, the experience usually earned during the process can be worth much more than the cash. Future employers will love it, and you’ll come to appreciate having been someone’s coffee-fetcher…eventually.
Build your skills:
If working isn’t your thing, try building talents in your free time. You won’t have to stick to a specific schedule, and the outcomes will still look great on your future job applications.
If you’ve ever had the inkling to juggle, learn another language, build a tree house, walk on your hands or even become a ventriloquist—now is your chance.
Besides, many of these activities, while being fun, will additionally equip you with patience, time management and imagination.
Take free online classes:
There are many websites out there that offer free academic classes, so you might as well take advantage of them.
Websites like coursera.com and edx.org, among others, provide you with the opportunity to learn what you want to learn, without the pressure of grades and GPA’s. You can even take classes through Harvard, MIT and Yale.
You may not get school credit, but you’ll be able to learn so much without spending a penny—topics like graphic design, HTML, writing and more are all available and beneficial to your future career.
More and more employers are looking for employees who can go further, who can reach and perform outside of their focused fields.
Travel:
Get out of Ohio and go see the world (or at least the northeastern United States). Travel sparks humility, mutual understanding, excitement, imagination and improvisation skills, among others. You will be able to get a broader view of the world, with more inclusivity of others’ views.
St. Augustine is known to have said, “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page,” so go out there and increase your world fluency.
Get some rest and have fun
If you’re not really into focusing on all that school and job and self-improvement mumbo jumbo, you could just have some fun; and even if you are going to do work, you should still find some time to let loose.
Hit up local hot spots for the awesome activities provided during the summer, like music festivals or movie nights. Go to the beach with friends, or take a hike through nature.
Then again, maybe you’re the type who just likes to kick back and relax, and so you may just want to rent a hammock for the summer and release your inner spirit animal—the sloth.
Then again, you’re probably already a master.