It's almost time to let out a deep breath and soak up the relief of finishing your exams – congrats!
You’ve now got about three months until you embark on one of the biggest adventures of your life, so make the most of the summer and have fun with the people you’ll miss most before you end up in different parts of the country.
While it’ll be great if you’re able to throw the biggest party ever as a send-off, it’s not always possible. We’ve come up with a load of other suggestions you could make the most of with your friends and family instead – or as well!
Get nostalgic
Your home town may not seem like much now, but you’ll miss it when the homesickness kicks in.
Why not go on a tour of all your favourite places? Whether it’s the cinema, the local park or a shopping centre, choose places that you don’t necessarily think you’ll miss. Trust us – there will come a time!
End the day by going to ‘your’ restaurant – you know what we mean! It could be Nando’s or the Indian over the road, but every group of friends has an eating spot they keep coming back to.
Be like Dora...
…and go exploring! One of the perks of friends going to different unis is that you suddenly get a whole new host of cities to look around. Book your train tickets in advance, or chip in for petrol if someone can drive, and start sightseeing! Use local websites to help with where to go and what’s on – Discover Southampton is good round here, for example.
If that doesn’t appeal, you can stay close to home, and try out a self-guided tour. Research the history of your city and walk around the places you’re interested in.
Think of things you've always wanted to do
Firstly, if there’s anything you’ve ever wanted to do near home and you haven’t got round to it yet, what are you waiting for? Okay, if there are money restrictions, fair enough, but this is literally the perfect excuse to go ahead and do what you want.
If that box is already ticked, do a little research to see if there are cool things around you just haven’t heard of before. Facebook can be great for this – check out the ‘discover’ tab within events. Alternatively, keeping an eye on adverts can reveal places like the New Forest Water Park.
Keep it simple
Sometimes, the most fun you can have is when you don’t put any effort in. Think about:
- Going to the cinema
- Having a sleepover and spending all night chatting, like old times
- Shopping for uni supplies
- Seeing if your city has a board game café. Gang up on the most competitive in your group, or play to win!
- Checking out local events like open mic nights.
Whatever you do...
…make the most of being at home and close to your friends and family. It gets a little harder to stay in touch once uni gets going, and taking the opportunity to relax with your favourite people over the summer can help keep everything from getting too overwhelming come September.
Task for this week:
- Plan some activities to do with your friends and family, do them, and have fun!