How To Waste Time: A Lesson from a Professional
Since the end of the exams, I've been able to spend my time more frivolously without the guilt of knowing I have something I need to be doing. It's only been a week since my last exam, and already I'm finding myself a bit lost now that I don't have something in particular to aim towards, and so I thought I'd compile a list of things you could spend your time doing now that you are FREE.
#1: Watch as many episodes of a TV show as you can in 1 day.
I recently discovered that I adore Gilmore Girls to the point of obsession, and this discovery was made after I was found two seasons deep after only one day. The joy of having no exams is that not only can you catch up on all the TV you've missed, be it current shows such as OITNB or Game of Thrones, but you can also re-watch all the box-sets you have taking up shelf space, which for me is Friends, The Mighty Boosh and The IT Crowd.
#2: Redecorate
It's hard to re-imagine your entire bedroom with piles of revision and textbooks lying around (believe me, I've tried) but as soon as you throw out (read: recycle, we care about the environment here) your stacks and stacks of paper, you're free to play tetris with your furniture as much as your heart desires. In fact, whenever I'm stressed I find myself tidying and reorganising my room, so to be able to create a whole new atmosphere in my room post-exams is v. refreshing.
#3: Go Outside?
This one is optional, as the great outdoors isn't everyone's cup of tea, and just because it's summer doesn't mean it's mandatory to leave the house (hear that, mum?). However, seeing as it's June and seeing as it's relatively sunny in England right now, maybe exploring isn't such a bad idea. Take the time to discover a new place in your town that you didn't know existed. Go on the swings. Swim in a lake. Climb a hill. Roll down it. Make a sand-castle. Go for a run. Do SOMETHING. Even if it means you're only doing it to say that you did.
#4: Read
Do you have any idea how great it feels to read a book because you want to and not because it's on the syllabus? If you also took English Literature, you're probably feeling that freedom as much as I am, and are ticking off all the books on your reading list too. I can READ again, and it doesn't have to be Shakespeare or Carol Ann Duffy. I am ecstatic. To celebrate, I've created a list of books I'm going to devour now that I have the time to do so:
#5: Make something
A dress. A meal. A magazine. A mix CD full of songs that begin with G. A really tall statue of a rabbit on Minecraft. The world is your oyster, my friend. I, for one, am probably going to make gluten-free peanut butter doughnuts. Seriously, there's a gap in the market there.
#6: Learn a new skill
I have a list of things I want to achieve within the next year, and a few of them are going to require an entirely new skill set. Firstly, I really want to learn piano properly. I played a little as a kid, but there's something so satisfying in being able to sit down in front of an instrument and just...play. I also really want to finish learning Japanese, and more importantly, sign language. Weirdly, I'm also really determined to get good at tennis. Each to their own, huh?
OR.
You could do what I'm actually going to spend my time doing, which is
#7: Waste an entire summer on the internet, refreshing the tumblr page.
Thank you for reading, good luck for results day, and I shall see you soon.
さようなら。
#1: Watch as many episodes of a TV show as you can in 1 day.
I recently discovered that I adore Gilmore Girls to the point of obsession, and this discovery was made after I was found two seasons deep after only one day. The joy of having no exams is that not only can you catch up on all the TV you've missed, be it current shows such as OITNB or Game of Thrones, but you can also re-watch all the box-sets you have taking up shelf space, which for me is Friends, The Mighty Boosh and The IT Crowd.
#2: Redecorate
It's hard to re-imagine your entire bedroom with piles of revision and textbooks lying around (believe me, I've tried) but as soon as you throw out (read: recycle, we care about the environment here) your stacks and stacks of paper, you're free to play tetris with your furniture as much as your heart desires. In fact, whenever I'm stressed I find myself tidying and reorganising my room, so to be able to create a whole new atmosphere in my room post-exams is v. refreshing.
#3: Go Outside?
This one is optional, as the great outdoors isn't everyone's cup of tea, and just because it's summer doesn't mean it's mandatory to leave the house (hear that, mum?). However, seeing as it's June and seeing as it's relatively sunny in England right now, maybe exploring isn't such a bad idea. Take the time to discover a new place in your town that you didn't know existed. Go on the swings. Swim in a lake. Climb a hill. Roll down it. Make a sand-castle. Go for a run. Do SOMETHING. Even if it means you're only doing it to say that you did.
#4: Read
Do you have any idea how great it feels to read a book because you want to and not because it's on the syllabus? If you also took English Literature, you're probably feeling that freedom as much as I am, and are ticking off all the books on your reading list too. I can READ again, and it doesn't have to be Shakespeare or Carol Ann Duffy. I am ecstatic. To celebrate, I've created a list of books I'm going to devour now that I have the time to do so:
#5: Make something
A dress. A meal. A magazine. A mix CD full of songs that begin with G. A really tall statue of a rabbit on Minecraft. The world is your oyster, my friend. I, for one, am probably going to make gluten-free peanut butter doughnuts. Seriously, there's a gap in the market there.
#6: Learn a new skill
I have a list of things I want to achieve within the next year, and a few of them are going to require an entirely new skill set. Firstly, I really want to learn piano properly. I played a little as a kid, but there's something so satisfying in being able to sit down in front of an instrument and just...play. I also really want to finish learning Japanese, and more importantly, sign language. Weirdly, I'm also really determined to get good at tennis. Each to their own, huh?
OR.
You could do what I'm actually going to spend my time doing, which is
#7: Waste an entire summer on the internet, refreshing the tumblr page.
Thank you for reading, good luck for results day, and I shall see you soon.
さようなら。
