Complete Guide To Summer Breaks In College.

What college students should do this summer vacations?

How to make sure you spend your summers in college effectively. A few things a college student could do during his/her summer break and how not to waste it away?

Okay. So your summer break is about to start or it has started already. You are really excited to do things. All those pre-exam bucketlists and amazing ideas you had night before the exam or even during the exams. It is time for them.

If you are in your first year, chances are that you are going to waste this summer. Most people do, and yes most people were as excited about it as you are right now. But they wasted it. Its too easy to do so. With the summer heat, the comfort of your home and newly acquired bundle of series and movies which are instant answers to your 'I am getting bored'. Don't let it be a summer in which you finish oh so many seasons and movies and did nothing else. At least don't let it be just that.

If I were in my first year again, I would make sure I don't waste the summer. If I try to recollect what I did back then, its a blank. Well, I learnt a little bit of Python which has paid off dearly recently. But the amount I learned didn't justify the time it was allotted. I could have done that in a week or so.

So basically, I did nothing.

If you are a sophomore, you've already got some sense. You have some interests you want to explore. You have. Don't say you don't. What did you do in your freshmen summer? What have you done in two years of your college life till now? There is a lot to reflect upon. 

Here is a piece which I wrote after my freshmen year trying to reflect. 
Read it first. 
On College and Drawing Your Masterpiece Right.

Most people around you will be taking 'projects' under professors. Don't buckle down to the peer pressure. You are old enough. Do it only if you find it interesting, not because everyone is doing it. Follow your heart.

I was lucky that things worked out for me in my sophomore summer and it turned out the be the best time I have ever had. It changed me. And I mean it.

Of the many things that I learned, the one is, that summer vacations in college are priceless. An odd 3 month time, with exactly nothing to do. No expectations, no rent, no stress, no commitments. Remember those times when you thought, If I ever had the time and freedom, I would certainly do X. Summers are those times. Now, I don't see another such block of days with the above mentioned features coming anytime in foreseeable future after I graduate. I just finished my third year, and the following summer vacation is my last.

And I am going to make the most of it. I have crazy stuff lined up, and even if I am able to complete half of it, I would be happy.

Value it. Please.

Everyone one of us has one thing in their mind which we are passionate about, and think that one day when we have the time and resources we'll go about working on that idea. The time is now. And the resources are abundant. Go ahead. Do it. And trust me, you have that idea. You are more than 19 years old. You've had amazeball ideas. Think hard. Remember them.

Here are a few things which you 'could' be doing in your summer. You don't have to these. Primarily you have to follow your heart. But just giving you an idea.

So what are few things you could do in summer breaks you get in college?

What should be in your College Summer Bucketlist? 

Things a college student should do in summer vacations.

Source

Things to do to make your college summer breaks memorable and productive?

Write.

This is the most important thing. 'Don't' say you can't write. You already do. Everyday. In college. You just don't write about yourself. Buy a diary. Today. Start a blog, keep it yourself. But write. Write whatever is happening, whatever you are feeling, whatever you think etc. Its really simple. Just transcribe your thoughts. Word to word. No fancy additions. You don’t even have to share it with someone else? How can that be that hard to do it for yourself?

Writing is essentially just a conversation with yourself. Your camaraderie with yourself is actually going to be the longest, and should be the richest. Writing is a way to achieve that.

College is beautiful, and you are going through a lot. Do yourself justice and write. I can fill this whole page with reasons to write, but can't.

Go ahead. Buy a Diary. Just order it. Start a blog. Put your doc in dropbox. 

Read. 

Read. Read. Read. I wasn't much of a reader before college. I sometimes take very very very long to finish small books. It's okay. Don't get intimidated by people who read a book everyday and throw around literary references here and there. You don't have to be them. Read a book, take your time. More than the story, you start discovering yourself. Now that may sound cliched, but gradually you will see what I mean.

If you are from my college, DA-IICT, you know RC? Yes. Thats the best thing the college offers you. One of our bright spots. Its amazing! You will be surprised by the diversity of the collection. Go ahead. Issue as many as the limit allows and take them home. And read. I've issued so many books which I returned without giving them a proper chance. Especially in such vacations. That’s fine. You owe no liability this time of the year, and you do not have to explain to anyone what books you issued but didn’t read. That is absolutely okay. This is just for you.

Get Fit.

Go cycle. Morning runs.  Walk with your parents.

Go swimming. Beat the summer heat.

Pick up a new sport.

Talk with your Parents.

You are smart enough. You are no longer a teen.Well most of you. Stop being a jerk to them. Talk with them. Take the conversations to different levels. Talk. Know them. Know how they were back in their college days. Of the few things I have realized last semester due to some event is that whatsoever happens, my family will always stick with me. 'Unconditional' love is a tough concept to grasp, and make sure by the time the realization comes its not too late. Go give them a random hug.

Programming.

All of you are already done with the programming courses the college offers. Its just basics that they've taught you, and it will remain so if you don't do anything about it. Its all upto you now. All those programmers you see in college, they didn't stop with Introduction to Programming and OOPs. Programming is a lot more than that. Don't hate it without giving it a chance.

Try algorithmic coding. Even if you don't like it, its good practice. It brushes up your fluency with your language. I had read books on Python, but I wasn't really confident about it as my preferred language till I practiced hard in it.

Got an idea? Code it. Make a webapp. Its so easy to deploy. But just do.

Learn a new language (not programming).

Volunteer.

Find a local ngo and volunteer. If not for others, for yourself. Go to an animal shelter. There are several animals that need the love and care that they have been denied because people tend to forget that they are sentient beings who also feel just like us. You will see proof of thought, compassion, fear, anger in them all the time. Maybe that means something.

Travel.

The one thing that defines my college life is the month long solo trip I made in my sophomore summer. Ask your parents if you can do this. If not, do it with your friends. Meet new people. Talk to them. Stay away from social media for a while. It’s a temporary relief for the loneliness that you feel.

Please, don't do it because its cool.

Find me in person, and I will talk about it with you for days.

Explore music.

Youtube is filled with beautiful music. Stop defining yourself with one genre. Okay, I get it. You think EDM is your thing, I listen to it too. But its a trap[i]. Its for quick consumption. There is so much more. Do random surfing on Youtube. Search indie music. Follow the suggestions that come up on the right. The best thing about music is that even after finding so many 'favourite' songs, there are still more. Waiting to be discovered. Here and there. Hidden between two cat videos. Grooveshark (which fortunately now works on the DA-IICT internet) gives you amazing suggestions.

Make a new friend.

Open up. Go ahead. Everyone other than you has lives just as full and rich as yourself, even people whose faces you just see in fleeting glances. Try to know them as more than just a face, or just a ‘hello’.

Patch up with an old friend.

Its about time. Bring back the memories.

End an enmity. Hate only consumes. Hate is a very strong word that life just doesn’t have time for. Everyone who you think isn’t whatever you want them to be, is still a human being with a lot to contribute to your life. No one is perfect; value that.

Learn a musical instrument. Its easier than it seems.

Go on a road trip with your friends.

Even if it seems so that your friends are never going to agree. Force them. They will thank you later. One of our fondest memories is a trip to Diu. And trust me, we were only 6 people going till the last hour, before everyone else said a yes. Took tons of convincing. Worth it.

Try different cuisines. Food is more amazing and deep than we give it credit for. If you like food, go out and explore places around you. Local, street, decent restaurants… Anything that suits your taste.

Take up a course online. So many interesting courses! Google Coursera, Udacity etc.

Most importantly, do something you always wanted to do but never had the time. This is it. This is the time. So, do this now. Think about something you always wanted to do. Do it now. Make it happen. Its not coming back. Explore. Try out new things. Its very easy to waste away the summer and you will mostly do that. All this excitement will die out soon. All this you wanted to do wouldn't mean a thing compared to an afternoon siesta. But don't fall for that trap. You will need to be reminded time and again.

You need to write it down. Make a bucket-list. Or anything. But do it before you forget.

If you want, write it down here. I've written a script which will remind you whatever you've written now, every week , through the summer. Completely automated.

Share this with your friends, comment what you feel and if you need any help just let any of us know here or on facebook :)

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Link to post : http://avoidingdecadence.blogspot.com/2014/05/complete-guide-to-summer-breaks-in.html

Also, if you have things to suggest to the list, comment and I'll add them up.

Also, this was co-authored by Chinar, the buzzkill.