Let’s face it, for every adventure you hope to do during your vacation from school, you will want those little moments of down time where the only interaction is between you and whatever you like to do in your free time. Below are some ideas on where you might want to draw your entertainment needs for the break.
Music
Dedicate some time to a new genre – For starters, you can pick a new genre that appeals to you on http://allmusic.com. After that, make a Pandora or Spotify playlist based on that genre. You can read up on artists that are popular to that music genre and sample their greatest hits. Doing this is a great discovery tool for find artists that suit your needs. I did this once when I was trying to find more music from the British Invasion era, and found great artists and songs that I still listen to to this day!
Peruse playlists – Playlists are my best friends. I love making them and listening to them. Over break, if you don’t want to go on Spotify, Pandora, or your handy iTunes, head over to 8-Tracks and listen to a user created playlist! There are great songs to be found and many playlists tell a story. You can pick them for your moods, your interests, and anything in between.
Autobiographies – Autobiographies are interesting in general, but I love the ones about people in the music industry. The people are familiar and the stories are engaging. Choose an autobiography on an individual that appeals to you and learn more about them this break. This can open the door to their music. After hearing an artist’s story behind the process of a song, you are more keen to enjoy it.
Movies and Television
Watch a documentary – Documentaries are the gift that keeps giving. Some of the topics that you learn about will become the seeds to further exploration into given subjects. There are so many things in the world to learn about, and documentaries are the perfect catalysts to expanding the mind.
Library – A lot of classic films can be found at the library. There are also titles that you might have forgotten about and want to see again. The library is a treasure-trove for movies to watch for a day. Plan a marathon!
News
NPR Podcasts – NPR is an acronym I swear by. This American Life is one of my favorite podcasts, and the great thing about it is its availibilty online. NPR is a great place to get news stories as well as fresh takes on them. Informative without being boring and entertaining without falling into a trap of being scandalous, NPR will make any listener into a lover of the news.
Creativity
Polyvore – Plan outfits and the style that you always wish that you had. Polyvore is great for making an inspiration board and letting your creativity fly. It’s collaging fashion in an accesible and easy way. This is a must tool for anybody who loves wardrobes
Gimp – GIMP is a free Photoshop alternative. You can edit your photos without the help of Instagram with this app. There are many tutorials and ways to play around. You can even get into graphic making. Trust me when I say that it’s possible in getting lost in GIMP.