It's summer time once again! Time to say, at least for now, goodbye to your teachers, school homework, nerve-wracking projects, pop – quizzes, and those lazy, boring classes. Summer vacation is probably the happiest period in a student's life. These vacations generally commence from the second week of May every year. The purpose of the summer vacation is multifold. One is relaxation. A student gets fatigued after the end of the annual examination. He needs rest to recoup health and vitality. The second purpose is to tide over the unbearable heat of the summer months. The third purpose is to provide a chance to a student to make up for his deficiency in any particular subject. It also gives students an opportunity to visit new places. Travelling is an experience and has with it educative value. However, there are plenty of productive ways through which one can spend the vacation that can be fun, relaxing and helpful for ones education or career. They are:
Follow a routine: Although the schools have closed, you must follow a routine. Don’t laze around. Get up early in the morning and go for a morning walk . This will make you active throughout the day. Decide the previous night when you will get out of bed, then make sure you follow your decision.
Clear the clutter: Clean up your living space, your work space, and your computer. Clear out old files, old clothes, papers you no longer need, and other clutter and you will not only have a cleaner, more organised place, than what is stacked all around you.
Destress: If the past semester (or past several semesters) has brought too much stress to your life, take this time to destress by pampering yourself, getting enough sleep, not over scheduling, taking time to focus on your breathing and meditation, getting exercise, eating right, and having fun. Praanayam and Surya Namaskar will help you destress.
Take an education vacation: Instead of just taking a vacation with no purpose, take a vacation where you can learn something. Travel is a productive way to spend your vacation. You can plan short (day) trips to places that are closer to your homes
Join a park clean-up: Local parks, hiking trails, and beaches are places where people often litter. Students can come out and help clean trash and make simple repairs.
Volunteer at a retirement homes/orphanages: Make visits to these places just to chat, offer a presentation, do art, share some music, or bring your badminton rackets/football/cricket bat and ball and hold a tournament.
Read for the blind and dyslexic: Volunteer to read for the blind and dyslexic. For this you can get in touch with the blind schools in your area. There is a saying: “Helpfulness is the source of happiness.” You are a powerful and practical source of help to those in need. Voluntary work can be a challenging and rewarding experience.
Taking the summer to work on an internship offer many advantages to students: You can find internships for a productive summer no matter what field you are studying such as media internships, law internships, hotel internships etc. You can gain experience and also test the waters to ensure you enjoy the type of work as well as build contacts for your future. You can include this experience in your resume.
Read: Make a list of books you’ve always wanted to read or find a list of best-sellers and give yourself plenty of reading for the summer. You can even buy second hand books or take them on rent. Read motivational blogs.
Get fit: Take on an exercise programme, examine and change the way you are eating, and make positive changes that can help you become healthy and fit. Try Yoga and see the change. Become an early riser and give yourself a good night’s sleep by going to bed at a reasonable time.
Buy books early: Buy the books for your next session early and get started reading them before classes start. If your session has already begun then surely you would have got holiday homework and projects to complete. Do not leave them for the last week of your holiday.
Take a non-academic class: Maybe you think that since classes are over for the summer you should stay away from school, but now is a great time to take informal classes to learn art, music, language,pottery, or any other subject that interests you.
Take up a new hobby: If you’ve always wanted to make a model airplane, learn to knit, collect coins, or any other hobby you can imagine, then this is the perfect time to learn new hobbies.You can even learn to cook.
Tutor students: Whatever subject or subjects are your strong ones, use that ability to tutor students who need extra help.This is a kind of revision for you.
Take a part time job: Finding a great part time job during the summer can build some cash reserves and still allow you some time to have fun only if you are above 18 years of age.
Study for admission tests: If you are heading off to college use the summer to get ready for admission tests you may be facing.
Create a resume or make your profile: It’s never too early to put together a great resume. Whether you will be in the job market soon or not, spend this time working on your resume so it is ready when you are.
Improve your writing skills: Writing is incredibly important during school and in your career. Establish excellent writing habits and learn to communicate effectively to see improvement in school and a great skill for your resume.
Research your family history: Take advantage of your down time to research your family history. Make a family tree.
Children, time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.
—Aniket Raja
