Every season – or at least every summer – I create a bucket-list of things I want to do before the season ends. You may be thinking that there is no point to doing that this summer with the Coronavirus pandemic still very much present, but I think it’s even more important now than ever!
After so many months of being cooped up in the house, we all need fun activities to look forward to. We may be limited in what activities we can do, but that shouldn’t stop us! We just have to get creative 😉
Keep reading to see what’s on my summer bucket-list, and comment below what activities you are going to add to your bucket-list!
Summer 2020 Bucket List
- Picnics – this seems to be the new brunch, since my ENTIRE Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest pages are full of picnic photoshoot pics! I have already had several of them myself, and plan on keeping the picnic vibes going all summer. Sun, fresh air, food and friends – what else could you need??
- Long walks – with so many indoor activities being unavailable, outside is really the best option. Especially for those who are still wary about being around people (with good reason!). You can literally walk anywhere, but I highly recommend finding a nice shady path in the forest or around a pond/lake for extra nature vibes 🌳
- Read a lot of books – do you remember when you were little and you were told to read a bunch of books over the summer and you never did? (Well I did, cuz I love reading 🤓) Now that you are an adult and no one is forcing you to, this is a great time to give it another go! I have a summer reading list coming to the blog soon, but in the meantime you can check out older ones here, here, here and here. Read inside, outside, in your car, wherever you want!
- Soak up some sun – I am a beach bum/sun baby and always have been (Cancer AND Leo energy!) so I love laying out and soaking up the sun. I may be out there looking for a tan, but I still do it safely! Don’t forget that SPF and make sure to H Y D R A T E 💦 If you have a pool, even better. If not, get a cute kiddie pool and lay in that!
- Beach trip – this might be harder or more risky than in previous summers, but I think beach trips are still totally in the cards this summer. We may not be catching flights to Miami (seriously – stay away from Florida if you don’t live there already 😅), but that doesn’t mean we have to forego the beach altogether! If you live in the DMV, you can drive an hour to any of the smaller and more secluded beaches along the bay, a few hours to Maryland or Delaware beaches, or a little bit further to get to Jersey beaches or Virginia beaches. You can even keep going down the coast to North Carolina if you want something a bit different!
- Road trips – since overseas travel is more or less cancelled this summer, it’s all about local/domestic travel, and I think road trips are highly underrated! I have personally driven all over the country (I even drove from San Diego to DC when I moved back here – alone! 😳) so I am always down for a trip! I say go as far as you feel capable of driving, but make sure you plan it out and limit the number of hours you drive per day so you don’t get burnt out and risk having an accident on the road! Some destination ideas within a day’s drive from DC are New England, Tennessee, North/South Carolina, and West Virginia. Google some cool spots to visit and hit the road!
- Photoshoots – I have been trying really hard to get creative with photoshoots since beginning of quarantine, being stuck at home and all, and summer is the perfect time to play around with different ideas! I have been getting sooo much inspo from TikTok (click here for my beginner’s guide if you haven’t read it yet) and trying out different shoots around my house. Some have been a fail, because I am limited in places that I can shoot, but lately I have done a few that were FIRE! 🔥 I am definitely going to keep playing around and see what I come up with.
- Drive in movies – I have ALWAYS wanted to go to a drive in movie and never have! Now that businesses are getting creative with quarantine friendly entertainment options, my dream might finally come true! I just found out today that the mayor of DC approved drive in movies at RFK stadium. I don’t know when it starts, but I’m IN THERE!!!
- Make dinner outside – ever since my dad got a mini grill several weeks ago, I have been OBSESSED with grilling everything! I love cooking and normally love cooking in the oven, but in the summer it’s WAY too hot to turn the oven on. Even if you have AC! Grilling outside is the perfect solution, and just screams summer to me!
- Celebrate my birthday (quarantine style) – normally I go ALL OUT for my birthday, being a Leo and all, but obviously I am very limited this year. I LOVE going out for my birthday – and just in general – but clearly that’s a no go! Instead, I rented a cute little AirBnb for the night, where I am going to have a VERY small and intimate dinner party (if my host is reading this it will be very small 😁 lol) and do a mini turn up with a few friends, then have a picnic outside the next day with more friends. I am excited about the plan I came up with, and totally fine doing something small this year since next year I turn 30 and have a HUGE ting planned! 🥳
- Get my social work license – as some of y’all know, I graduated with an MSW (master’s of social work) 3.5 years ago before moving back here. At the time, I decided not to pursue my SW license, because it wasn’t the direction I wanted to go in with my career and the requirements for getting your license in California (where I got my MSW) were completely OD so it just didn’t seem worth it! Fast forward two years and many many months of job searching later: I finally come to the conclusion that I am going to be stuck in this limbo between not having enough experience for non-social work jobs (that don’t even require a master’s degree) and not being qualified for social work jobs (that require the license). Although I currently have a job, I know I will be limited in the long term both in job opportunities and salary without my license. Since I work at a school and I’m off for the summer, this is the perfect time to study for the exam and hopefully pass! Wish me luck 🤞🏼
- SLEEP – yes you read that right! I am off all summer, and fuck it I am TIRED! I am so not used to being off in the summer and having a job to go back to rather than having to look for a job, so for once I am going to allow myself to relax and actually take my summer vacation as a VACATION! I am always doing the most and trying to be productive and just going going going but I need to just CHILL. Like fr fr! And the best way to chill is to sleep. A LOT!! So if you need me I’ll be catching 😴
Hope you enjoyed this summer bucket-list and found some ideas for your own! Until next time 😘
