Ideas and tips to enjoy your two months out of school even more.

In the eyes of most teenagers, summer is the ideal time to lay poolside all day and get tan with your friends or play basketball with your bros and hit up Lifetime. Summer days tend to get into a routine and although relaxing is vital to the successful summer, there are numerous fun things you and your friends can do to spice up your summer.

Instead of laying around most of your summer, make it a goal to accomplish things you have always wanted to do. Take a roadtrip with your friends or family, whether it be 45 minutes away to Lawrence for a jazz festival or four hours away to Tulsa to go square dancing. Summertime should be about adventures and exploring who you are and your surroundings. Make it a goal to not sleep in everyday until 12:00 p.m., wake up and go on a run or hike. Don’t sleep your precious summer days away, make your summer full of memories and new adventures not of sleep and tanning lotion.

Some may not realize how much there really is to do around Overland Park, or just Kansas in general. There is much more to Kansas than sunflowers and Dorothy. Kansas City and Overland Park has a great arts community with numerous art festivals going on in the summer. With the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, you are sure to some some of Kansas’ greatest local artists. Not only is checking out the local arts scene new and fun, but it also supports the artists within the community. We are also privileged enough to have many water/theme parks such as Worlds of Fun, Oceans of Fun and Schlitterbahn. Also, with Kansas City being known for its fountains, go downtown on a hot day and run through the fountains with your friends.

You don’t have to empty your wallet to have a good time. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City is free and entails world-class art and architecture. Also, every other Friday at KC Trends there is a free car show including Ferrari’s, Lotus’, Maserati’s and much more. Some of the best things in life are free, make a change for the better and spend this summer being more productive and trying new things. We only get two months of summer – spend them wisely.