4 Creative Ways to Spend Your Summer Break

It doesn’t sound like much, but when you really think about it, two months of summer is a good amount of time — it’s eight weeks, or roughly 56 days. That’s definitely long enough to pick up a new hobby, form a new healthy habit, or even learn something new.

Instead of sitting at home or spending every weekend at the beach all season long, try to find creative ways to spend your time this summer. Whether you’re nurturing your mind or body in a new way, it’s for the greater good. You may be surprised about what you learn about yourself and others when you step outside of your comfort zone.

Unexpected, Creative Ways to Spend Your Summer Break

Take a language immersion class.

Want to plan a trip abroad but worried about your ability to communicate in a foreign country? Or maybe you’ve just always wanted to know a second dialect? Now’s the time to sign up for a language class. Find one at a local community center, so you can meet new people, too. Or choose an online program or an audio tape course, which may be better for your schedule. Chances are you won’t be totally fluent by the end of eight weeks, but you’ll definitely expand your vocabulary.

Travel somewhere alone.

Talk about stepping outside of your comfort zone — road-tripping or vacationing solo will force you to use your navigation and communication skills in new, creative ways. Safety is still a major priority, so don’t go completely off the grid, but challenge yourself to wander around in a city, sightseeing without a firm agenda. Or stop in an unfamiliar town you’ve always wanted to visit that’s on the way to your final destination. You might be surprised by what you find — a gem of a family restaurant, a cool art gallery, or even a pretty park to just sit in and enjoy nature.

Before you set out on any adventures, if you deal with cold sores, make sure to have Abreva packed safely in your bag. Abreva can heal a cold sore in two and a half days¹ when used at the first sign!

Cook something new every day.

There’s a lot of creativity in cooking, especially if you don’t follow recipes exactly and change things up a bit depending on your taste. Maybe you kick off your culinary adventure by buying a new cookbook, and you tackle one recipe at a time. Or you could find recipes for a particular type of cuisine online and tackle a new one each week. There are no rules — just to have fun! Toward the end of your eight-week journey, start improvising a bit, switching out herbs or veggies and making new combinations within your dishes. If you fail, no worries; It’s all about the process of trying something new.

Learn calligraphy.

The written word is a beautiful thing, and, sadly, we rarely use it anymore. That’s why learning calligraphy can be a relaxing, stress-free way to spend your summer evenings. You don’t have to focus on old-school script — there are plenty of modern lettering styles. Sign up for a workshop to master the basics. Then you can practice by making labels and signs for your stuff, and maybe even reorganizing while you’re at it. Wouldn’t it be nice to send out a fancy handwritten letter or two, instead of just emailing and texting people all the time?

This summer break, don’t let anything get in your way of learning something new and expanding your horizons!

¹ Median healing time 4.1 days. 25% of users healed by 2.5 days.