Finding ways to stay active during the summer can be hard and it’s tempting to just lay in bed all day. From our last summer being a shell of what it usually is and the school year being way different than any before, it’s like we forgot how to have fun over summer. No need to fret though because there are still so many activities for you and your friends to do over the summer.

A great way to get out of your house and also help out your community is to volunteer at a food drive near you. A great organization you can help with is called So What Else. They are always looking for more volunteers to help at the food drive or do any volunteer work. Students who volunteer can also get SSL hours. 

Senior Thomas Jezek volunteered there last summer and helped drop off lots of canned goods and organize the food drive. “It felt really nice to give back to my community and it was also a really good experience where I met a lot of interesting people who I would have never met,” Jezek said. 

Sign up is easy and you can do so at this page. You can volunteer as much as you want, going in for multiple days every week or just going for one day to see what it’s like. There are three locations: one in Frederick (21704), Gaithersburg (20878), and Germantown (20876).

Another fun activity that helps you stay active and fit is to go on hikes or nature walks. The Billy Goat Trail on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is a great place to go on a hike or just enjoy the scenic outlooks of the Potomac River. The Billy Goat Trail has different parts that have a big range in difficulty with some trails being rough while others are smooth and easy to walk on. 

For people with the shopping addiction, thrifting is a great way to upcycle old clothes and find cool things with your friends. Goodwill of Greater Washington Retail Store, Life4Animals Thrift Shop, The Salvation Army Family Store & Donation Center and Planet Aid Thrift Store are all amazing stores to find vintage and unique clothes for a fraction of the price they would be at a normal store. 

  A new trend you need to try out that started this year to document all the fun things to do this summer are disposable cameras. They allow you to take pictures without being glued to your phone and when they print, there’s a cool effect that the camera adds to them. The entire process of taking the pictures and getting them processed at your local CVS or Walgreens also adds more meaning to the pictures.