Summer vacations are often associated with lazing around at the beach and watching as much streaming content as humanly possible. However, if you’re on the path to becoming a responsible and productive adult, you may want to change the way you spend your free time. Of course, you still need to rest and recover after a year of school and exams, but there’s also room for activities that can help you grow. Here are a few ideas as to what you could do with your long summer vacation as a student:

Volunteer for a Cause You Care About

When you volunteer, you’re not just doing it as a way to give back; you’re also doing it for your own benefit. Recent studies found that volunteering helps your mental well-being and your CV as it puts you in a mindset of feeling meaningful and it makes employers happy (many will favor people who have a history of volunteering).

Plus, as a volunteer, you get to connect with people from all walks of life while learning about the ways of the world. You may even have a great chance to travel and immerse in different cultures, which is a wonderful way to grow and gain life experience. 

Lastly, volunteering helps you develop communication and organization skills. And depending on your position, you may even learn a bit of business administration or finance.

Take on a Summer Job for Extra Cash … and Transferable Skills

Experience in the field of work is one of those factors that help make you more employable, so don’t be afraid to look for a summer job, even if it’s a part-time one. Each job has advantages, but earning extra cash and building up your skillset are the most obvious ones.

For instance, if you work in retail, you’ll learn how to deal with customers and prioritize work when things are piling up. On the other hand, if you work in the fast-food industry, you’ll learn how to integrate with a team of people you don’t know and how to optimise your work. 

Depending on where you live, you may have a good chance to find a summer job in an office as an intern. Or be a store assistant. Regardless, each job is an opportunity to learn and develop skills that will be useful when you enter the work field full-time.

Travel Alone

You may have visited other countries before, but did you ever travel alone? Besides the fact that you get to experience new cultures from an entirely new perspective when you travel by yourself, you learn a whole different set of skills.

First of all, you are completely independent and can decide where to go and what to do. Second, you are the sole person responsible for your health, well-being, and finances. So, if something goes wrong, there’s no one else to blame.

Traveling alone, staying in hostels, and having just a backpack for your necessities, is a sobering experience that every student should try at least once. Besides learning how to manage life on the road, you also get to discover yourself and understand what you’d like to accomplish in life.

Find Your Passions

Do you enjoy taking artistic photos of natural landscapes? 

Or maybe you like building furniture out of recyclable materials.

If you already have hobbies, invest more time and effort into what makes you feel good about life. If you don’t, start looking! A hobby is not something you do when you have too much free time on your hands; it’s an activity that brings you joy and sparks your passion.

Plus, many people start with a hobby and end up building entire business empires. So, who knows? You may be one of those people. And if not, you have something extra to give your life meaning and beauty.

Key Takeaway

Summer vacations are wonderful occasions to take your time and think about your future and yourself. So don’t waste your time! Look for ways to be productive and develop your skills.