In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Fifteen Credits.”

So exams are finally over for me and my friends – this also means the end of college. It’s very strange that after so little time (only 2 years) it’s all over. It’s probably a little too early to get really nostalgic just yet, especially as I only finished my exams on the 17th. I’ve made some of the greatest friends someone could ask for at college, which has made me so glad that I didn’t stay at the school I was at (It had a sixth form too) as I would have remained in the goldfish bowl. I feel that college allowed me to meet interesting people, learn new things and take a step into the real world. I hope university will introduce me to even more experiences!

But now the tense wait for exam results can begin.

Or, it can be looked at as a nice in-between time when exams are over but the future is decided just yet. This is how I’m looking at life until the 13th August.

Which means I need to fill all this lovely time with something, here are a few ideas that I’ve had and thought I would share for anyone else who is planning to make the most of the summer.

  • Go somewhere new. Do something you never thought you Photo0370would – or could. It doesn’t all require sacks of money.  http://www.busabout.com/  This company offers great trips, often the price includes accommodation (although not flights), and is a relatively inexpensive way of seeing some of the world. I know someone who recently  came back from an Eastern European Adventure with them and is already in the planning stages of another trip in a few months.
  • Stay close to home. You don’t need to go far to have a good time, and sometimes the hassle of ensuring all of your friends have booked flights, got all documents needed and not lost their passport (I know many people who have notice only 2 weeks before they’re due to leave on holiday that they are missing their passport) can be all a bit too much. So just hop on a train, go to a different part of the UK, go on a seaside holiday like you’re a kid again – can you honestly say there is something better than building sandcastles and eating ice cream? http://www.yha.org.uk/   http://www.campingintheforest.co.uk/  I’m looking into booking one of the YHA hostels with some friends and camping in the forest is a good waWP_000421y to go if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of life for a little while.
  • There’s no place like home. With university just around the corner I’m not sure that I want to spend too much time this summer gallivanting about the world. I’m one of those people that love being home, and this is the last summer when this little seaside town really is my home. So my friends and I have planned some things to do here, things that are so hometown they’ve just got to be done. There are things like the local aquarium, this great place that’s about smugglers (its sort of like Yesterday’s World), pirate day (my town is a little crazy) and the rides, just to mention a few. This really is the last summer to tick all of those things off the list of Home Things.
  • Get a life. Or at least a hobby. It would be pretty easy to let your brain waste away over summer. It would be a shame for all of that extra brain space that was found to store all of those crazy facts – like Hilary Clinton having a 15 percentage point lead over Obama in the invisible primaries for the 2008 election – to be left empty. You could learn a language with just a CD and some books, take up a sport, learn to sew and make yourself a whole new wardrobe, take a cooking class, or finally learn to play the acoustic guitar like you always said you would. Summer is the time to do something that YOU want to do, not the examiners and teachers and lecturers. This is you chance to do something just for yourself.

So there you have it, a rough plan to a vague time in life – at least for anyone who has just finished college or university. Summer’s short, as is life, so enjoy these few months of sunshine and make yourself some memories worth having.