As the summer vacations loom, you may be wondering what to do with your
summer vacation. Although it’s nice to have free time to spend with
your friends, you will soon find yourself with more time than you know
what to do with. With busy school schedules and heavy workloads, you seldom
have time to do anything extra for yourself. Summer is the perfect opportunity
to learn something new, have an adventure or make a little cash while
developing your career skills.
Get a job
Employment is a great choice for the holidays as you can earn a little
extra cash while learning vital life skills. Gain independence, learn
to manage your own finances and learn how to conduct yourself in the workplace.
Experience gained at summer jobs can give you the edge over other candidates
when you apply for a job after school. Try to choose something that you
are interested in or a job that gives you experience towards your career.
There are a number of sites you can utilize to find the perfect summer
employment opportunity.
Teens4Hire
YMCA
Summerjobs
Grow your own food
For those who are environmentally minded, growing your own food is a great
way to reduce your carbon footprint, eat locally and grow food that is
organic and higher in nutrition than the produce from the store. It’s
also tons of fun! If you grow more than you can eat, sell your produce
to friends, family members, neighbours and at local farmers markets. Utilize
unused garden space, empty lots or allotment gardens in your local park.
There are resources online on how to grow your own veggies, but most garden
centers will help you with tips, tricks and ways in which to grow the
best veggies in town.
Mother Earth News
Tallahassee
Develop a new skill
Ever wanted to learn a musical instrument? Or speak Spanish? Set yourself
realistic goals for the summer and spend just a couple of hours every
day acquiring a new skill. By the end of the summer you may not play tennis
like Serena Williams, but you will be well on your way! New skills need
not cost lots of money; if you don’t have the cash for lessons,
there are plenty of resources online. You can also ask friends and family
members to help teach you special skills that they have. If you learned
a new skill every summer, you’d be a regular renaissance genius
by the time you graduate. Choosing something to keep yourself busy this
summer can really help to develop you as a person. Of course you must
leave yourself some time to relax and enjoy the weather too! Planning
ahead is key, so decide what you want to do before the summer comes and
make sure you have all the resources you need.
