Everyone deals with idle time differently. While some do their best to eradicate any chance of a spare moment in their schedule, others love having nothing to do. For teenagers, summer can bring lots of idle time – so much that sometimes it’s difficult to come up with things to do aside from spending time at work or out with friends.
The summer is a great time to pick up a hobby or learn a sport. Skateboarding and the guitar are my go-to hobbies, but there are many unconventional hobbies to choose from. You could take up whittling or extreme ironing (if you are unfamiliar with extreme ironing, it’s a fun Google search). You could spend the time in competitive mooing practice. Like heights? Why not take up extreme pogo-sticking? There is always a constructive and creative way to spend your time.
Besides, researchers around the world study the effects of stresses and how to relieve them – a hobby is proven stress relief.
For every effective use of time there is an equally ineffective one. Binge-watching an entire television series over a sunny weekend is a great example. Touring around to every ice cream parlour in the city is a fun use of time and an easy way to waste all your money. You could always ride the subway and run on and off the train at each stop, causing a public disturbance and hoping no one hits the emergency alarm.
As us kids grow into teenagers, the frivolous hours of summer change their meaning. Children play and go to camp all summer; the embodiment of bliss. When those summer weeks suddenly change into newfound responsibility and cheap labour, your perspective is different – the days and hours off become more precious, more important, and the possibility of working that dead-end summer job forever becomes a great motivator in the new school year.
Days and years slip by, so instead of wondering what happened to those blissful hours of childhood, seize the idle time in your everyday life.
Jesse Tomas is a student currently on summer break from Malvern Collegiate Institute.
Was this article informative? Become a Beach Metro Community News Supporter today! For 50 years, we have worked hard to be the eyes and ears in your community, inform you of upcoming events, and let you know what and who is making a difference. We cover the big stories as well as the little things that often matter the most. CLICK HERE to support your Beach Metro Community News!
