By AILEEN LOO
brats@thestar.com.my

IT’S the holiday season again! Whether you’re in secondary school and have just completed your end-of-term exams, or studying for a degree in university, I’m sure you’ve all been looking forward to this for a long time now.

You would probably have spent the last few months fantasising about your holiday plans, be it shopping with your girlfriends, going for a game of futsal with the boys or just chilling at the mamak.

But as soon as the final bell rings, signalling the end of yet another school year, you immediately plonk yourself in front of the idiot box (or tablet) and all those holiday plans just disappear. I must confess, my mother has often caught be trawling aimlessly through blogshops for hours instead of doing something more productive during my holidays.

Regardless of our bad holiday habits all this while, why not try accomplishing a few of the options below to have a more meaningful school holiday this year-end?

Spend quality time with family and friends

Getting caught up in our separate lives may be one of the reasons why families spend less and less time with each other nowadays. But don’t let technology get in your way of communicating with your loved ones. Why not plan a day trip to Ipoh on a food hunt? Or climb Broga Hill (in Seremban) together one Sunday morning? As for your friends, take some time off to plan gatherings and be reunited with those whom you haven’t spoken to in years! Remember the words of Jim Butcher: “When everything goes to hell, the only people who stand by you without flinching is your family.”

Catch up on school work

If you haven’t been doing too well in those monthly exams, the holidays are the perfect time to get some extra tuition so you’re prepared to face the next school year. It might seem like a major bore to be slaving away at your books while your friends post photos of their vacations on Instagram, but it will definitely be worthwhile when your grades improve and you hit the GPA you’ve always been aiming for.

Improve yourself

Try something new, like volunteering for a charity you are passionate about or signing up for culinary lessons! Not only is it fulfilling, it also helps you discover things you never knew about yourself! For all you know, you could be a real Masterchef in the kitchen but just don’t know it yet.

Break a sweat!

Get healthy by making it a point to get at least 30 minutes of exercise everyday. Be it a social game of footie, swimming a few laps at the community pool or jogging in the park, do something to get your blood pumping – you might just get that hot bod’ you’ve always wanted!
I’m not saying it’s wrong to watch TV, surf the Internet or play some video games, but it’s important to have some balance. After all, you only live once, right? Why not live it to the fullest?

The writer is a member of the BRATs young journalist programme organised by R.AGE. To find out how you can be part of the programme, or to invite the BRATs to cover a story or event, email brats@thestar.com.my. For more info about the programme, go to facebook.com/starbrats.