Trying to nail down a summer internship has the potential to feel a lot like the Hunger Games: College Edition. Here are some of my tips and tricks for equally adventurous and educational summer months, without an internship.
Pick a new hobby.
Tune into your inner Instagram fitness model, and sign up for a bunch of exercise classes that you never saw yourself doing. Some of my favorites (also Class Pass eligible) are Barre3, Barry’s Boot Camp, FlyBarre / Flywheel, Title Boxing, Cyc, Exhale, Bikram Yoga. Learn how to cook, it may work in your favor to have a few specialty dishes up your sleeve for date night. Take up music lessons, and learn how to play a new musical instrument. Buy a composition notebook, go sit next to a tree by a lake, and let your creative juices flow. Poetry, sketching, or writing a novel are some of the things that come to my mind.
Take a class.
Signing up for a class or two is a great way to learn something new, especially if it’s not a class you’d elect to take at school. In addition to educating yourself, come second semester senior year, if the summer classes you take count towards your major, you’ll have some wiggle room to take electives you wouldn’t get the chance to take otherwise.
Apply for jobs that will benefit you in the future.
Getting a job in something like customer service may not seem like a big deal right now, but when you’re applying for a job post-graduation, oftentimes big companies look for the skills that come from customer service jobs. These jobs include: working in retail and the food industry, being a call center agent, concierge, front desk associate or receptionist, technical support representative; the list goes on!
Travel the world.
If you have the opportunity and the means, there is no better time to travel than a free summer when nobody is counting on you. Whether you go by yourself, or with a group of friends, travelling can be one of the best experiences you’ll have in your lifetime. From where I stand, travelling and experience is for the soul what education is for the mind.
Volunteer.
I can’t think of much that’s more rewarding than the feeling you get after you’ve closed your eyes at night, knowing that you’ve done something to help others that day. Having the time and giving it to people less fortunate or causes that you believe in is what makes the world go round.
Whether you choose to fill your summer with cycling classes or tweeting pictures of your attempted soufflé at Gordon Ramsey for approval, make sure you enjoy the time off and make the most of it. We won’t have three months to enjoy the sun forever.