All school year, we wait for summer to come. Then summer comes. At first, great. Sun, sleep, no homework, vacations, etc. But after awhile, if your friends are away and you’re stuck at home, thinks can get, well… boring. Let’s face it: most of us teenagers these days solve this through screen time, whether that means hours of gaming, searching the web, texting, hanging around on social-networking sites, etc. I’ll admit, I’m often a victim of this myself.
All school year, as I waited for summer to come, I told myself I’d get myself outside and active and adventurous. Easier said than done. However, after having a pretty dull time when I’m stuck at home, I decided to give off my butt, turn off the computer, and go do something interesting.
What did I do? Well… I wanted adventure, so I made myself just that. 
Rule #1: Don’t have a firm plan (that takes all the fun out of it). Have a general direction you want to go, a way to get there (biking is great -that’s what I’ve been doing-), and the go with the flow.
So I decided to head over to Aspen Landing, and planned to get lunch there. After an exhausting bike ride, when my head was about to explode, I went to Good Earth for lunch and then got myself a cone of ice cream from Marble Slab.
Rule #2: Don’t stick to ordinary. Sit on a grassy area by a pond rather than on the bench outside the store or café or whatever.
Rule #3: Try something new – just give it a shot, even in the smallest and weirdest of ways. Order an Italian Soda with butterscotch syrup instead of pop or water. Go for a more exotic ice cream flavour. Opportunities abound 🙂
Rule #4: Give yourself time. Don’t gulp down a snack then head back. Bring along a book, or just sit there and soak up the sun (if you feel too awkward to just sit there as people pass by, pull out your phone so it looks like you’re engaged in something, but don’t necessarily actually do something on it).
Rule #5: Explore. Take a different route home, and stop at places that seem interesting. I ended up going to the new Target and also the public library, and detoured from my detours from my detours.
Rule #6: Bring along a friend if you want, but maybe just try being alone. Being a loner can actually be nice. Freedom…
Rule #7: Don’t follow any rules or plans or anything that you don’t want to (but don’t be stupid). Be spontaneous (just make smart choices, please).
Oh, and HAVE FUN!!!!
Some ideas if you’re stumped:
- If your parents don’t mind, go over to a park that has those BBQ thingies, and make yourself a small fire to roast a hot dog and/or s’mores. Or cucumbers. Or chips. Or whatever you find interesting. Make sure to bring along some wood to burn, a lighting method, the food you want, a roasting stick, and some way to put out the fire (if you’re limited on space, such as biking with a backpack, take an XL Ziploc bag that you can then fill up with water there and then empty out before you leave).
- On a sheet of paper or your phone, make a list of “left” and “right”, then follow your random directions and see where you end up. Just don’t go too far, as you don’t want to get too lost.
- New store? New café? Check it out! Facebook is a great way to learn about grand openings, as well as…
- … special offers and events! Free fro-yo, donuts, $2 fraps, the list goes on.
- Just go with the flow. See where your feet or bike or horse or wagon or whatever mode of transportation you have goes.
Be smart, be adventurous, and enjoy 🙂