What should I do if I have lots of free time?Answered
I'm a sophomore going into an online school that I did not realize had as many athletes as it does. Me not being an athlete puts me at a disadvantage and I realized I have the whole day to myself but I can't think of any productive activities to do during the day.
What would you guys do if you had three years of high school left and the whole day to yourself?
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2 answers
Depends on what you're interested in as a college majors as well as your career. However, consider the following activities to add to your list:
- Research: Cold email professors (search on YouTube or Quora how to) hinting your interest in their research and ask if there's an opening. Regardless of whether it's paid or unpaid, that's not important. Its the experience, skills, and future networking opportunities that are all to gain from it.
- Clubs: Join clubs in your school that you are interested in! Being interested is important because you need to have leadership. Now, I understand many people cannot immediately get into a leadership position after just joining a club or some (like me) have bad luck with club elections. But, the key here is even as a member, take initiative; a friend of mine once proposed a fundraiser and worked with a national charity group (Red Cross) through his club to raise money. My point is even as a "member" you can do things to bolster your leadership skills.
- Job: Depending on your age and where you live, you may be able to get a job. Regardless of pay, you want the experience and ability to interact w people and develop connections.
- Local Initiatives: There are so many things that you can do to help your community, and colleges LOVE to see it. Think about anything! Maybe you partner w a local group to raise awareness about an issue; maybe you start an organization to tutor students for free (community service); maybe you work on a website to provide resources to your classmates or underclassmen at your school (I've seen this happen at my school).
- Pursue and/or Develop more Hobbies & Skills: There are SO MANY ways to develop your skills. Let's face it: the reality is everyone nowadays does one instrument (99% piano), 1 sport, and 1 club and says "COLLEGE PLS ACCEPT ME!!". NO--- You need to differentiate yourself. Learn a new skill that you enjoy but is also different from the others and you could someday use to your advantage. For example, during 2020 lockdown I know one of my friends taught himself how to code. Even though that is different, many people know how to code. So to differentiate himself, he pursued further and developed some simple quiz/database apps for Play Store. He now teaches coding classes.
The scope for activities is truly ENDLESS!!! Just manage your time, plan out, and make sure you are really excited about what you are doing (do NOT do it just to show colleges- they will see right through it). Most importantly, show your genuine interest and stay in contact with whomever you meet and work with (hmm I wonder maybe I could contact my former employer or lab professor for a letter of rec). Contacts are super important!
GOOD LUCK!!!!!
Honestly If you know your passion I would definitely try to find extracurricular activities that align with it. I would also maybe find a job or internship maybe that shows colleges that ur responsible and work hard. I wouldn't worry too much about being an athlete. I would try to join as many clubs as possible to see what you like maybe start your own.
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I really like accounting. Would learning that count as some sort of activity even though I can't really apply that skill?