surviving summer

Summer can be (and usually is) a good feeling.  It's safe, comfortable, and expects very little of you.

Summer is not always a good feeling.

If you're like me, summer's debut has been BITTERSWEET, mainly due to hour-long periods of nothingness wherein I may analyze my worth as a human and it's meaning.  My solution?

I compiled a list of every single fun summer activity I could think of.  Then, I can kind of hurl myself (and you can, too!) at each activity with such force that I (you) may completely forget my (your) worries all together.

This, in a way, is a method of avoidance, so I would also recommend taking some time to tell yourself that you are certainly not expected to become a better person over summer break and what matters most is that you do not turn into a potato but really just try to enjoy yourself out there and also turn off your brain for a while.

Gee, Zoe, what's eating you?

I will be a Junior next year, and it's really bothering me.  When I was a freshman (which, by the way, felt like yesterday), I saw Juniors as the most well-adjusted of us all.  I idolized them and their confident social lives.  Over the past two years I have come to realize that 

(a) "confident" social lives are not for everyone, 

(b) a lot of people don't have "confident" social lives and don't really give a damn, and 

(c) Juniors are the exact same people they were as freshmen, more or less, they're just a little less bewildered.

So, before my brain came to realize all of this, I thought that over the mere course of two months (summer), I would flower into the Junior I was always meant to be, and everything would be perfect, and it would be all on me to make happen.

So yeah I was a little stressed out and needed a guide to escape my own anxiety.

THUS:

1. Bike to picnic
2. Tye dye
3. Make lemonade (REAL lemonade, the kind that you could totally sell)
4. Rollerblade music video
5. Fancy pool day - good swimsuit, towel, sunglasses, snacks, water slide n' all
6. Backyard campout (don't forget the s'mores bonfire)
7. Sew a pretty dress, skirt, or top 
8. Take METRO to: shopping in the city, picnic in the city, museums in the city, or classes in the city!
9. Hiking day!  Get in the GEAR!
10. Beach day (drive up to the nearest beach, swim the heck out of the beach, then drive back)
11. Water park day (same deal)
12. Eat out for breakfast 
13. Take an early (as in sunrise) morning bike ride
14. Paint on big sheets outside (I have not discovered a purpose for this yet, but have been wanting to do it
15. Buy a can of shaving cream and empty the entire thing into a bathtub, then play with it
16. Go to an Asian supermarket and buy neat candy/pastries
17. Host a dance party with all the best music
18. Go eat sushi 
19. Have the ULTIMATE spa day, no fooling around here
20. See a matinee
21. Try rock climbing
22. Have lunch with an old friend ("having lunch" is a very civilized and satisfying way to do it!)
23. Go to the thrift store 
24. Clean the house
25. Make dashboard cookies
26. Make a day-long video log ("vlog")
27. Make miniature shoebox dollhouses (put your Malibu Stacy in one)
28. Make an obstacle course
29. Make cute things to stuff in people's mailboxes
30. Spend a day reading nostalgic books of your childhood (Like Calvin and Hobbes or The Mouse and The Motorcycle)
31. Speaking of which, do all of Ramona Quimby's favorite activities
32. Make a painting outside (called "plein air" painting)
33. Make a water slide (lay out a huge plastic tarp over a grassy hill, then run the hose over it)

Have fun!

**note** it may not be wise to attempt ALL of these activities - perhaps pick a few favorites.