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Make this a Summer of Discovery

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What are your goals for summer? Do you want to:

  • Relax poolside?
  • Take a break from the routine of school?
  • Visit family, friends or someplace new?

You can do all of that, and still have time to do a little something more. Summer isn’t endless, but it can be boundless, and sneakily productive. College admissions officers want to know who you are and who you’ll become. Summer is a great time (when you aren’t burdened by deadlines and tests) to try out some things you’ve always thought you’d love, those things that you have wished you’d have time for in college or as an adult, things you’ll be able to show off on those applications later. 

And, bonus, even if you start this because you think it might help you with your college applications, it should also be fun for you. That’s the point, after all… to discover what IS interesting and fun for you (and then be honest about it on your applications).

So, this summer, with its long, lazy days, why not take some extra time for yourself to discover new passions and knowledge that can change the rest of your life?

How can you have a summer of discovery? 

  1. Vow to pick up a book or magazine every day. Maybe you’ve gotten out of the habit of reading. Maybe you associate reading with projects and tests. Don’t pick those kinds of books. Pick things that look fun. Non-fiction, fiction, memoir, whatever, but something related to something you’ve always wanted to do or know.
  • You’ll likely learn a lot about what you like and what you don’t. 
  • You can use what you learn to infuse your conversations, future personal essays and college interviews with fascinating tidbits from your reading.
  1. Set short, specific reading goals. It might be something like, “Read one magazine article on bird-watching” if you have an interest in birds. Or you might say, “I will read for ten minutes a day the first week, 15 minutes daily the second week, and then 30 minutes daily from that point forward.”
  2. Use your breaks and moments of free time to gain knowledge. When you carry your book (or e-reader or phone) with you each day, you can steal a few moments throughout the day to read. 
  1. Your smartphone likely offers some great podcasts, either audible or video, that can educate you on a regular basis on topics of your choice. Try a podcast series about your curiosities, or try a different podcast episode every day.
  2. Visit museums. Explore via your senses on a museum tour. Whether your interest lies in history, art, or something else, plan trips to several different museums this summer. If you’re stuck inside or far from options, do virtual visits. With the lockdowns caused by Covid-19, many of the world’s best museums created virtual visits to bring you up close and personal with their collections, even if you live 1000s of miles away.
  3. View documentaries on television. With Netflix, Amazon, Youtube, CuriosityStream and the rest of the internet, you can definitely find something interesting to watch and learn about your fields of interest. Is it history, politics, science, or the modern world that fascinate you? Pick a theme for the week and watch a documentary a day. Write down some notes about it. Could you do this work every day? Could you write essays about it for the next 4 years?
  4. Ask questions and create opportunities to talk to real people in the field. You might have people all around you who know things you have no idea about. Use people as resources! 
  • Are you curious about what life is like as a professional bio-chemist? an Antarctic base staffer? a librarian? a game designer? Hang out on Reddit’s Ask Me Anything threads and get the inside scoop on real careers.
  • If you’ve always wanted to know more about art history and your uncle is a high school art teacher, ask him for some guidance in how to begin a self-study of art history.
  1. Start a feature film movie list. One way to learn about different locales, jobs, and life situations is to watch more films. Films aren’t only entertaining – they can also teach you something about people’s attitudes, relationships, and jobs. Some movies portray real people and true life situations. Consider these classic movies to give you an interesting start on your own list (ratings vary):
  • A Beautiful Mind (mathematics)
  • Pollock (art)
  • Rain Man (autism)
  • Amadeus (music)
  • Primary Colors (politics)
  • Good Will Hunting (genius)
  • Erin Brockovich (environmental and social activism, law)
  • Moneyball (statistics and data)
  • Selma (social activism, civil rights)
  • Spotlight (journalism and investigation)
  • Capote (authors and creative writing)
  • Just Mercy (social activism, racial injustice)
  • Apollo 13 (space flight, astronauts, aviation engineering)
  • The Social Network (entrepreneurship, social media, internet)
  • Gorillas in the Mist (animal research, conservation)
  • The Imitation Game (mathematics, genius, LGBTQ)
  • The Big Short (finance, Wall Street, housing)
  • The Theory of Everything (physics, personal/medical challenges)
  1. Take a MOOC. Choose a short course to start learning more about your potential major. Rather than paying and taking it for credit, choose the free option to allow you to take quizzes and read the essay prompts without grades or stress. Consider: How do classes in your field of interest work? What kinds of questions do the professors ask the students to ponder or to write essays about? What do the people who teach the MOOC do every day?

Summer programs can be self-created. You don’t need to enroll in a formal camp or group learning program. A self-created summer plan shows initiative and real personal interest in what you’ve chosen to do. And, with these kinds of options, your time can still be part of a fun, lazy and all things wonderful that summer should be.

Gifts for the High School Graduate

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A couple of weeks ago on Facebook, I asked for your best gift ideas for graduating high school seniors. Graduation season is almost over, but here are some last minute gifts that might help your graduate make the transition to college smoother (these are all Amazon links, but no affiliate kickback):

  1. A Kindle. While not every textbook will be on Kindle, a few will be, and most libraries have some kind of option for digital lending of required novels or non-fictions pieces. Some schools even offer article bundles for class as a Kindle purchase. So much easier than dealing with those giant piles of photocopies that I used as a college student. You can pre-load the Kindle with a fun novel to get them through the summer, and
  2. Tina Quick’s The Global Nomad’s Guide to University Transition: This introduction to the first year of college is perfect for TCKs. It addresses the typical first year issues found in any guidebook to college, but goes into depth on the things that affect TCKs more than other typical freshman. Quick has some great insight into how to make the first weeks smoother as well as how to hold on to the community of friends and family that are now even further away from you than before.
  3. Hal Runkel’s Choose Your Own Adulthood: This is a bit of a self-help guide, it walks you through the process of making decisions both big and small, and how your choices will have effects on who you are as an adult. From the publisher: “Choose Your Own Adulthood helps you approach these choices from a more thoughtful, curious, and ultimately self-aware perspective. You’ll learn why responding is so much better than reacting, how loyalty is really overrated, which risks are worth taking and which are best avoided, and so much more.”
  4. A gift card to the college bookstore, or to a popular food chain close to campus. Most campus book stores are run either by Follett or Barnes and Noble, but your graduate’s school may be independent. Check the website to figure it out. This would be a great send-off gift in August, or any time throughout the year.
  5. A tourist guide to their new college town. Go for either the classic top sights to see in town, or a book of ideas for little off-the-beaten path getaways and give them some ideas to escape their everyday on a long weekend.
  6. Every traveler needs their own set of luggage, but dorm space is often pretty tight. Consider the ever-popular duffel bag from LLBean or the ultra-light Samsonite for things that are easy to stow under beds or on the top shelf of the closet. If you’re extra-inspired, get it in their school colors.
  7. A Peel-and-Stick Dry Erase board. They don’t have to confine their door messages to a tiny magnetic frame any more, they can turn their whole door into a fun message and inspiration board.
  8. A basic Tool Kit, this one includes a couple of items I am always looking for. Your always prepared graduate will be popular with their fellow dorm dwellers who are trying to DIY something and just need a level or screwdriver.

There are also lots of great things from your life abroad that would be fun gifts for your graduate. In many ways, college students are making do with less “stuff” than they used to, but they always enjoy personalizing their space. Lightweight wall hangings, fun ceramic mugs, an unusual pencil cup… anything that isn’t breakable can remind them of their home-away-from-campus, and give them a little connection to you that they see every day.