Whether you’re spending your summer on the coast tanning poolside or you’re working at the local Abercrombie & Fitch, there’s no better time than now to take a good look at yourself and decide who you are and what you’re going to believe in.

Hit the books: For those of you who are dying to do some independent reading during the school year but can’t find the time, summer is a godsend. Finally, you can read what you want to read and learn something that you might not have learned in school. So whip out your copies of “Half the Sky” and “The Help” and get crackin’!

Take lessons: Dance lessons, ceramics lessons, surf lessons, diving lessons, you name it. This is the time to learn what you’ve been waiting to learn all year long. By the time you get back to school in the fall, you’ll be a pro at whatever you’ve decided to take up and all of your friends will want to join in on the fun.

Volunteer: If you’re an undergrad, how much money can you make from a summer job anyway? Unless you’re an actress in a future blockbuster hit or you “know a guy” who can hook you up with cash, you’re probably not going to make anything substantial. So if you’re one of the many who just couldn’t get a job this summer, do not fret—volunteering is always an option. No one turns away free help, and unpaid experience is experience nonetheless—the fact that you worked for free doesn’t devalue your work at all. Volunteer supervisors can write letters of recommendation just as well as work supervisors can. Check out your local animal sanctuary, social policy organization, or help hotline and get your philanthropy on!

Believe in something: Your time spent in college is the first time you really realize something bigger than yourself. Research an issue you care about until you become an expert on it. Go online, go to the library and fill your brain with everything you can about it. Take a stand and hopefully you’ll develop the conviction you need to enact change and believe in something more than you ever thought possible.

Hopefully by the end of this summer, you’ll be proud of who you are, simply for making the effort to be better.

By: Diana Kraikittikun | Image: Source