It’s summer and you find yourself stuck in Moscow with nothing to do. Your friends have jobs and whenever you call them to hang out, you often receive the answer, “I can’t. I have to work.” You might even be running low on cash or just bored and not doing anything every day.
You might have slacked off looking for a job before the summer holidays began but it’s still not too late to go job hunting. It might be more difficult now that other students have taken the best jobs and internships and you might find yourself with an undesirable position but the job still saves you from running low on summer funds. A job would also keep you busy and provide the opportunity to get back at those friends who so often declined your offer to hang together.
Not everyone gets lucky and you might not find a job at all, or maybe you did find one but it’s the last option you hoped not to fall back on.
The good news here is that there are other options for you to keep yourself busy and still have fun. There are many places in the Moscow area where students can volunteer . You can make a difference somewhere by volunteering your time and also gain experience that might help you in the future if you are strategic in the type of volunteering opportunities you find.
Volunteering is a good choice because you keep busy during the summer, you give your time freely, you meet and make connections with great people and you enjoy the pleasure of making a difference somewhere.
If volunteering doesn’t work out for you, you can also set out on a personal project. During the busy semester you might have complained about how you did not have enough time for yourself but now you have more than enough time that you could use to develop that talent that you have always wanted, or even seek all the different species of insects that you have wanted to collect.
With your free time, you could also start preparing for next summer or the upcoming school year and begin looking for jobs or internships you would love, the requirements you need to be eligible and when to start applying for them. This will make life easier for you when you actually begin to apply for these positions because you will have already done the background research. By preparing in advance, you to will be less stressed during the year when the pressure of school and finals hits.
Moscow and the surrounding area is a beautiful place and provides easy contact with nature. You can also use the summer to discover whether or not you love the outdoors. Go hiking, camping, fishing or biking and take advantage of the small community and expansive country side. Outdoor activities are also a good way to meet other people and enjoy the summer weather.
Whatever you chose to do with your summer, be sure to make the most it and find something that you enjoy.
Toluwani Adekunle can be reached at [email protected].