Teenagers often say the word “bored” during summer break. No schoolwork, no assignments looming, no exams on the horizon—vegging out quickly turns to withering away. So to perk enthusiasm for summertime activities that are fun and meaningful, Fairfield Living magazine asked its college interns about what keeps them going in the summer months! (Yes, they produced this fun, enriching article during the summer!)
Christina: “I try to spend my free time doing volunteer work while also balancing the task of crossing things off my Summer Bucket List. Every year I come up with goals to do things my friends and I would never normally do. It’s the best feeling to cross those things off my list as the summer goes on, a way to see that I've accomplished something during these relaxing and mellow summer months. Things like take a Polaroid photo shoot, hike and have a picnic at Sleeping Giant, visit a thrift shop like Macklemore, or host a book club and potluck dinner with my best friends. That way, the summer is filled with ways to cherish everything I love about Fairfield before I leave for the school in August.”
Abbey: “I personally enjoy taking the time to indulge in my hobbies. Summertime, to me, is a time to read what I haven’t had time for during the year and to plan events that I’ve been looking forward to. I spend a lot of time going into New York City (living in Fairfield County makes this trip quite easy), whether it’s to see a concert in Central Park, visit MOMA for a special exhibit, or take a few dance classes to keep up with it over the summer. I think these months are made for a time of both work and play—the “playing” being actually partaking in activities that will make me a happy, more well-rounded person.”
Kate: "I try to think of summer as the time to do things that I want, but never have the time for in the school year. This does mean indulging in a fair amount of TV watching and "couch-potato-ness," I won’t lie, but it also means investing in things off the beaten track. For me that means things like baking extravagantly, doing fun little crafts with my younger sister, or walking down to a nearby dock and watching the sun set (painfully corny, yes, but I actually do this). I also take the time to travel, whether around the country or just within Fairfield County. I love finding random, unknown restaurants and places that I didn’t know about in the area during the summer. It makes you feel adventurous even within the town you thought you knew backwards and forwards and have lived in for years.”