The school year is almost over, with only a handful of class days left before summer break. This is one of the most stressful times of the year with finals coming up. With that being said, once finals are over, we are done until August and summer break will begin.

The three-month break is a good time to take some time off and relax for a bit. After all, you just completed two consecutive semesters of homework, essays, exams and, above all, stress. Stress is one of the biggest “side effects” of a college education and can cause other mental health issues such as anxiety and sleep deprivation. This is often due to the amount of work that is required by the students to fulfill in order to pass a class that will eventually get them a degree, and hopefully, a job.

This summer, while it is great to sit and relax and take a break from the stresses of everyday life, it is also important to not waste that time doing nothing. It’s a time for relaxation, but it’s also a time for new experiences. For example, Baylor University offers summer positions as student employment specialists. There are also Baylor-centric opportunities, such as being a Foreign Exchange Student Coordinator, with little to no experience in that field needed. There are plenty of ways you can take advantage of your free time to gain job experience or even just have some original summer fun.

One of these ways could be getting an internship. Internships can give you a leg-up on the other people who are trying to get into the same job as you. However, it’s not all work and no play — the internship experience can be fun as well. Not all jobs are the traditional, sit inside the cubicle, kind of job. In fact, there are a ton of positions that are even on the road or non-office jobs. I have received a summer internship offer at RED-C Catholic Radio starting next month, which is a great experience for my career. This internship also gives me a reason to fill in time and keeps me from slacking off this summer. In this internship, I will be taking over social media for the RED-C Catholic Radio — Central Texas station as well as working on commercial recording and editing with possible job expansion in the coming fall.

There are also some good activities to do, some fun summer-only experiences. For example, getting involved in summer camps is a great way to stay active during the summer months. Some other choices include being a volunteer sports coach, possibly getting involved with your local church over the summer or even doing some freelance work with photography, blogging or possibly videography, along with a multitude of other possibilities.

With all of that being said, take advantage of the three months of the year that you get off, but don’t take it for granted. It will be gone in a flash, and come August, you will be missing it more than you know.