Get Up, Get Going

Hopefully you’ve been enjoying some much-deserved free time and relaxation after working hard in school all year. Rest is good, but you can’t veg all summer, so what are you going to do with all those extra hours? Here are some ideas from the New Era and its readers on things you can do this summer.

Spend time with your family. You’re probably too busy during the school year to hang out with your mom, dad, and siblings, so now’s a good time to catch up with them.
Start a regular exercise schedule to keep yourself fit.
Work on your Personal Progress or Duty to God Award requirements.
Get a job or internship if your parents say that’s okay. Now is a good time to get some work experience and save mission or college money.
Read the Book of Mormon. If you read about five pages a day, you should finish it by the end of August.
Turn off the summer reruns and find ways to serve at home, in your ward, and in your community.
Learn a new skill. You could learn to cook, canoe, or do anything else you’ve wanted to learn how to do.
Read good books.
Check to see if your community has any free cultural or inexpensive musical events you could attend with friends or family.
Participate in your ward or stake youth service projects and in youth conference.
Summer classes are a good idea if you need to catch up on your schoolwork or would like to explore subjects that you can’t fit into your school-year schedule.
Make a new friend, a nonmember or less-active member, and do things with them that can lead them to either membership or full activity in the Church.