'Only Boring People Get Bored'

We've all heard it before, usually as a small child and from whichever adult had the misfortune of keeping an eye on us over the summer holidays- 'only boring people get bored'. For me, I've heard this about 9 billion times and it's now completely ingrained on my brain. In fact, I now refuse to be bored at the risk that I might be accused of being boring. Because of those 5 little words I go to extreme lengths to keep myself busy including cleaning the house, tidying and sorting my bedroom and ironing as much washing as I can stomach. STOP RIGHT THERE, this is all getting very out of hand.
Let's face it no matter how much we try no one can be completely content at all times and this is me at the moment. I'm filling the time with things that I hate doing just to keep myself busy. My college term finished way back in June and I have been bored out of my mind! No seriously, Jeremy Kyle, This Morning and Loose Women are all well and good for about a week or two but then the novelty just completely disappears. Luckily I go back to college tomorrow (hallelujah!) so hopefully I'll be feeling like a real person again in no time. But it got me thinking- does all of this make me a boring person?
My conclusion- NO! Sometimes we all just run out of things to do with ourselves and that's totally okay. So here's a few things that I got up this Summer to stop me from going crazy, 1) to prove that I'm not mind-numbingly dull and 2) as it might inspire a few of you to go out and try something a bit different instead of resigning yourself to watching the Coronation Street omnibus. Enjoy!

• GET SOME WORK! Extra work equals more pennies, and more money in your pocket allows you to go out and treat yourself. Aside from that I love going to work, I'm super lucky to have a part-time job that I love, with a group of people that are so friendly and lovely. For me, going to work is a great way to fill my time because I enjoy going! Don't be scared to ask for extra hours, if you've got the time to give then it's not just benefitting you if the hours need to be filled at work anyway. And for anyone who hasn't got a job, GO AND GET ONE! I know that's so much easier said than done but if you don't try then you'll never know. This time of year is also a really good time to find something as companies are often looking for extra hands ready for the Christmas rush.

• GET SOME WORK EXPERIENCE! Whether you have a job or not, invest some of your spare time to bettering your own future. Right back in June I did 6 weeks work experience in a school, I had such a great time and it was really good to get some experience of seeing just how things work as I want to go on as a Secondary School Drama Teacher. I was based in the drama department and was given the chance to share some of the things that I have learned about the subject with students, including leading a few sessions with Year 7 and Year 10. It was a great insight and a really memorable 6 weeks of my time out of college. Now I've got this experience under my belt I can put it on my CV and it may just help me pave a path for the future. I'd recommend anyone to go and give this a go in whatever you want to go on and do.

• VOLUNTEER YOUR FREE TIME. This could be in a charity shop, going to visit an elderly neighbour or offering help in any other way. Giving your time to other people is a great way to use the time that you've got. Helping others gives yourself a sense of worth but I promise you that if it makes you feel good then it's making the people that you are helping feel even better. For the past couple of years I have volunteered a few hours every Wednesday evening to work in a soup kitchen. It's hard work but I do enjoy it and just a few hours work really brightens someone's day, directly or indirectly.

• READ! BECOME A BOOKWORM. You may have caught up with my 'Bookworm Week' posts about 2 weeks ago, and if you did then you'll know that this summer I have been loving the 'Divergent' series. Along with those I also re-read a few books that had just been sat on my shelf and a few new books that I went out and bought, like Vicky Pattison's autobiography, a book about the Plantagenets and a bit of Adrian Mole. It's great to get lost in a book and the subsequent conversations about them are good too.  

• GO FOR A LUNCHDATE. Catching up with friends feels so great when you've been at home on your own all day. Catch up with old friends or friends that you see all of the time, either way I love having a good chin-wag. I've loved Wednesday meet-ups with my best friend, Dids, in Starbucks for a coffee and a salad. But I've also been able to see friends that I haven't seen since they went off to uni last year and they have been some of my favourite parts of this Summer.

• FIND SOMETHING NEW TO DO. A few weeks ago I let my boyfriend take me to go and play pool at our local pool hall- not going to lie, I didn't even know that we'd got one. But it's been great to go out and do something different, sometimes you have to mix up date nights a bit and a change of scenery has been great. Find something that you can go and enjoy with someone else and have a bit of fun.

• LEARN SOMETHING/ TEACH YOURSELF SOMETHING. I'm not a great advocate of this one but I have made an effort. Learning something new takes time and to come out of it at the end better off can't be a bad thing. I've spent some time learning monologues, which for a lot of people might be pretty random but for me it's definitely a useful thing. You could better your maths, or learn a language, learn sign language or teach yourself to cook or knit. Just do something worthwhile with your time.