As a collegiate athlete, between practice, competitions, team meetings, travel, and of course, school, your free time is limited. But even with a busy schedule, you should always find time to enjoy life and make memories outside your sport. To help you think of ideas on what to do, here is a list of ways to have fun with your friends, roommates, or teammates from an athlete who's been there. 

1. Spend time at an amusement park, riding roller coasters, seeing zoo animals, playing carnival games, or going down water slides.
2. Find a cool hiking trail to explore nature. 
3. Sign up for an escape room.
4. Spend the day at the beach relaxing and playing different games like spike ball, beach volleyball, or building a sandcastle.
5. Go bowling one night and have a competition against friends. 
6. Attend a karaoke lounge or bar. 
7. Spend the night watching a movie and eating snacks (or take it outside and go to a drive-in!). 
8. Gather your friends, listen to music, get your favorite beverage, and paint.
9. A game night has never been a letdown so buy a couple of board games and invite some friends over for some friendly competition.
10. Spend the day in the water kayaking.
11. Go to a trampoline park and flip around, play dodgeball, and jump into piles of foam.
12. Have a BBQ/picnic and enjoy the company of your friends. 
13. If you're an adrenaline junkie, go indoor skydiving until you can do the real thing.
14. Test your limits and go outdoor or indoor rock climbing. 
15. Take a dance class and see if you have a newfound talent. 
16. If retail therapy is your forte, save some money and find unique pieces to go thrifting.
17. Take a day trip outside your college town–it can be into the city, to the snow, or a boardwalk. 
18. Attend a concert by your favorite artists or explore new ones coming to your area.
19. Support your favorite professional sports team by attending a game.
20. Get a couple of friends together and go to a laser tag arena.
21. Start a TikTok or YouTube channel with your closest friends or teammates.
22. Attend a museum or an art exhibit for up-and-coming artists.
23. Go to an arcade and have a good night playing video games and winning tickets.
24. Look into different live shows or plays that are coming to town.
25. Gather a couple of friends and go zip lining one weekend. 
26. Pack up a car and go to a camping site for the night; roast some marshmallows, tell stories, and play games.
27. Have a photoshoot and spice up your feed on social media. 
28. Throw a themed dinner party and get your friends to dress up.
29. Look into different fairs, markets, or pop-up shops happening around your town. 
30. Explore new restaurants and hangout places.

BONUS TIP: If I could give you any advice, it would be to create a list right when you get to college. Pick different things you want to do before you graduate and do them any chance you can. To have fun, you need to put yourself in an open-minded position to do so. 

Related: Rate Your Coach

Taking time for yourself is crucial as an athlete, as it can be easy to get caught up in the same schedule and hyper-focusing on your athletic and academic demands. Remember, you are not only a student-athlete, you are in college. You should take some form of time out to have fun and enjoy the little things in life! 

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* Originally published on April 19, 2022, by Daesha Harper