It’s your last semester of college and you’re both thrilled and frightened to be joining the real world soon. Your life will, of course, change drastically without the assignment due dates and long exams — you’ll probably even end up rethinking the difficulty of these tasks. Who knows, though? We mustn’t allow those thoughts to stop us from engaging in new, fun and productive activities. These are several not-so-tedious things to do with the time you have left before graduating.
Organize the Photos on Your Phone
Photo by Joyce Xu
If you endlessly photograph your street food, interesting buildings or street art, your photo albums are likely filled with not one, but three photos of the same exact thing. It’s simply a habit of ours to take and keep extra photos to have more options when we’re editing each one for the gram. But certainly, there’s no surprise that organizing things and throwing them away bring us a sense of relief, especially when we’re about to reach the next chapter of our lives.
Fix Your Resume
Photo by Joyce Xu
We don’t want our resume to miss out on all the new skills we’ve recently acquired, do we now? Let’s update that resume by adding new experiences, skills or awards. You can also change the font, bold and italicize a few things, or add bullet-points. Change the look and feel of your resume and you’ll feel brand new, too.
Read 3 Books by Your Favorite Author(s)
Photo by Joyce Xu
We’re not alone when it comes to wanting to read those gorgeous books on our gorgeous bookcase, from those books we purchased the minute we heard about them, but haven’t actually opened, to the ones we superficially bought solely because the cover was beautiful. Needless to say, either of these books should be read, but with the limited time you’ve got remaining in college, focus on the ones written by the author(s) you admire.
Travel, as Cliché as it Sounds, Travel
Photo by Joyce Xu
We frequently hear about the exciting experiences one gets from traveling, but we’re completely fixated on the costs of visiting another country or the mere idea of finally leaving the place where we were born and raised. That’s absolutely reasonable, and what’s important isn’t that you get yourself on a plane, but is rather opening your mind to simple explorations such as walks along new parks or visits to shops you’ve never been to. Travel around St. Marks if you have to. Try Mamoun’s Falafel or Udon West. Get a piercing, or even a tattoo. Nobody knows, not even yourself, what spur-of-the-moment things you’ll want to do when you walk down those vibrant streets.
Grab Lunch with Your Classmates
Photo by Joyce Xu
I’m sure many of us have walked around during our break between classes and noticed several eye-catching restaurants, pondering why we haven’t eaten there. Text your classmates, call or FaceTime them — it doesn’t matter, just ask them if they’d like to grab lunch with you. It’s nice to have an interesting discussion while simultaneously savoring new dishes.
Intern Wherever You Can (Don’t Get Difficult)
Photo by Joyce Xu
You almost always learn something new, most of which turn out to be surprisingly helpful in the future. If you get too picky when choosing an internship, you’re just going to make it more complicated for yourself. Say “yes” and maybe, just maybe, a new, distinct task or project might intrigue you enough to alter your career plans.
Try 5 Recipes from a Cookbook
Photo by Joyce Xu
Once you get a full-time job, you surely won’t have enough time, unless you’re working from home, to test out recipes from cookbooks, so use your time productively and make the dishes you’ve long desired to make.
Don’t have a cookbook? No problem, here are some you shouldn’t miss out on:
- Cravings by Chrissy Teigen
- Make It Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten
- Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook by Matt Holloway and Michelle Davis
Splurge at the Dining Hall
Photo by Joyce Xu
While dining hall food isn’t favored by many, it’s your last year at the school, meaning it won’t hurt for you to try just about everything on the varied menus. Spend on way more than you can eat — French fries, ramen, ice-cream, a burger, a few slices of pizza, or an over-priced box of sushi — and share them with your friends. Head over to the coffee shop and buy your favorite drink — if you usually get small, give large a shot this time.
Spend a Few Hours at Your School Library
Photo by Joyce Xu
You’ve heard about the library multiple times from professors and classmates, but haven’t really had the chance to check it out. Well, there’s no better time than now to take a moment to look through all those books you’re sure you’ll never read and wonder why it took you this long to discover the beauty that is your school library, a place that envelopes countless books, mini study areas and the lovely unity of students working on projects.
Binge-Watch a TV Show
Photo by Joyce Xu
With all those assignments that await completion, it’s nearly impossible for us to lie back and have even the slightest opinion on those trending shows. Guess what, though? It’s okay to play the role of a couch potato once in a while, but only once in a while — don’t get too excited.
Make it your duty to take up at least 7 of these things, and you’ll be sure to have a regret-free graduation.