Students: Productive Acitivities to do over Summer

Summer is here! It's often raining but I promise you it's here!

For most of us exam-taking students the Summer holidays are here, which means many weeks of being home. We all have visions of the Summer being full of meeting  up with friends and venturing away from home all day in the sunshine. However unfortunately it rains, your friends go off on holiday with family for a week or two and if you're living in the middle of nowhere like me, impromptu meetings with friends are just not possible and instead require a bit of planning. This leaves us with a lot of time spent at home, so what is there for us to do?

Sell your old school stuff!

As much as you may feel you could use your old textbooks in the future.. the truth is you never do. It's much more financially efficient to sell these textbooks, and if necessary you can rebuy these books later on in life when you need them, and at this point they'll cost a lot less. You could also sell calculators, science aprons and other education related equipment you won't need to use again.

How can I sell my items?

Amazon trade-in This is a great system I've recently discovered and used. With Amazon trade-in you can send off some of your old stuff for free and amazon will give you a gift certificate equivalent of what they believe the items are worth. If the items you send are not up to the standard they expected then they'll simply send it back to you free of charge. It's important to know that only certain products qualify for being a trade-in item, so search for the product you wish to sell first and see if a trade-in option is available.

Sell on Amazon Here you can choose how much to sell your items for and either send them directly to the customers who want them or send them via an amazon courier. I have not used this system therefore I cannot comment on how efficient the process is.

eBay Everyone loves eBay! Here you can sell items which are similar to others, or sell completely new items. You can choose how much to sell it for or put it up for auction. You can chose your desired delivery method so you can have time to buy packaging and postage if necessary after an order has been placed. I plan to use this very soon to hopefully sell some of my older GCSE textbooks.

Friends and Family If you're lucky enough to have friends or family who may need your old books, then why not sell or give the books to them! The only bother here is that you may look rude if you try to ask for money in this scenario. Perhaps use this option if you feel the book isn't worth much or if you've had no success in selling it... or if you're feeling generous!

Get ahead of your next course

If you already know what you'll be studying next year, then what's the harm in reading ahead and knowing what to expect? I'm not saying that now is a great time to start a whole new revision timetable, but being able to get the required reading material before it all sells out and knowing how difficult your course will be to plan ahead can always be seen as a good thing.

Learn how to play an instrument

If reading up on your future work is just too nerdy and boring for you, then why not learn how to play an instrument?  This way you have something great to add to your CV, as well as learning a new skill and having fun at the same time. Other positives include being able to play your favourite music when your Ipod breaks, and discovering talents you thought you never had! Plus you might be able to join a band, hello new found path to fame!

 

Start a blog or become a Youtuber

Do what I do, start a blog! This blog can be about anything you want it to! It keeps your mind occupied with things to write about and plus is can help you with your writing and creativity skills. By aiming to get lots of new readers you can set yourself challenges, which is productive!

All you need to become a Youtuber is a camera, a laptop and a program which edits videos and youtube and you've got yourself a hobby! Like with the blog, aim to get as many viewers as possible, best case scenario is that you start getting recognised on the street and everyone will follow you on twitter!

 

Learn how to make something and turn it into money

This could be card-making, baking or anything you believe you'd be good at making, and you can sell them at various Summer Fares or online. By doing this you're feeling productive, you're earning money, but at the same time you can do something you enjoy!

Get a job!

Easier said than done, believe me I know. There are lots of temporary Summer jobs and internships available as well as part time jobs which you may be allowed to keep after the Summer ends. So find your CV file on your computer and get those applications sent off! A job is a great opportunity to improve your skills and your CV for your desired future career, it's also a good place to make friends and socialise during those days when you wouldn't have been able to with your friends. However understand that if you're lucky enough to get a job, it won't be allowed to not turn up to a shift simply because you've been invited to a party instead, you have to respect the agreements with your employer.

Have a super productive Summer!

So hopefully by doing some of the activities listed above you will be able to go to bed at the end of the day feeling as though you haven't wasted the day by just watching TV and that you've actually done something useful. Of course I highly recommend going out with your friends as much as possible, as these long Summers off school won't last forever. These activities are mainly for the days when your plans get cancelled or nobody is available to meet up with.

Goodbye for now!