By: Ashley McClure

The school bell rings on April 6 and you rush out of school only to find you have no plans for a whole week. For some, this may be a relief, but for those of you looking for a good time, even on a tight budget, here are a few suggestions.

The Bucket List
Spend your week checking things off
your bucket list. This list can have anything
you want on it, so be creative.
For example:
Go for a hike to the top of a nearby mountain.
Take a funny picture with 5 random people
at the mall.
Be in two places at once.
Tornado Times Staff Bucket List
1. Skydive (Edward Nadurata)
2. Ride the tallest rollercoaster in the world (Kimberly Bondoc)
3. Adopt a pet (Christine Babayan)
4. Take a cross-country road trip (Arpineh Oganesyan)
5. Go to the planetarium show (An Uong)
6. Go to the Ellen Degeneres show (Lili Mikaelian)
7. Be in a flash mob (Ashley McClure)
8. Go to Amsterdam (Jeannie Mai)
9. Visit all the famous Korean eateries (Se Yeon Kim)
10. Be involved in a crime scene investigation (Alex Karibyan)
11. Volunteer at a homeless shelter (Maryam Soorma)
12. Shadow human trafficking victims (Agnessa Kasumyan)
13. Volunteer at a hospital (Danny Hovanessian)
14. Stargaze (Josh Briggs)
15. Go the the zoo and meet a Giraffe (Daphne Ong)
16. Get my license (Ani Kirakosyan)
17. Bungie jump (Arbo Keshishi)
18. Go to Venice beach (Harut Kazaryan)
19. Go to Palm Springs with friends (Alejandra Rosas)
20. Train a pet (Brian Crosby)

Yard Swap
Spring cleaning takes on a whole new
meaning when you get to swap with
your friends. Plan a day when you can
get together and exchange your old movies
and clothes with your friends. If there is excess
stuff that no one wants, donate it to a local
charity—it’s a wonderful way to give back.

Pool parties
Plan a themed pool party and make it a potluck. This is a cool way to spend some quality time with friends. You can also play pool games like
Marco Polo.

Pool Party Theme Ideas
Luau Party/Surfing Party
Go to any party store and you will be able to find hundreds of Hawaiian decorations. Make sure to include exotic drinks and lots of fruit on your menu. If you want to go all out, hold a limbo competition or a conga line.

50’s/ Retro Party
Have everyone in attendance wear vintage bathing suits and play lots of swing tunes. For decoration you can also add old records or cut out music notes to put around the party area.

Pool Party Games

Colors:
Pick someone to be “it” and have them sit on the outside rim of the pool with their eyes closed. All the other players choose a color and whisper it to another player. The “it” player then calls out random colors and when the players hear their color they must swim to the other side of the pool without being tagged by the “it” person. If someone is tagged they become “it.”

Pool Volleyball:
Toss volleyball across the pool without it touching the water.

Chicken:
Get four people together for this game and split into two teams of two. One player from each team goes on top of their team members shoulders. The objective is to knock over the other team’s players into the water.

Noodle Fight: Grab a pool noodle and challenge your friends to an epic duel.

Road Trip
If you or one of your friends can drive, grab your car and hit the road. Plan your stops ahead of time and try to stay with family and friends along the way. For amazing memories, challenge yourself to take pictures every time you stop at certain landmarks.
As a licensed driver that has already been through it all, here are some tips on how to pass your license test, what to do and what not to do while on the road, and how to avoid accidents.

Before the day of your license test:
1) Make sure you drive around the area the DMV is located at to familiarize yourself with the area you’ll be tested at; getting a feel of where you’ll be the day of the test will make you feel better prepared
On the day of your license test:
1) Have a good breakfast
2) Bring all the necessary paperwork the DMV requires you to have on that day
3) The most important rule of them all: BE CALM. It can be a pretty nerve racking experience, but if you let your nerves get the best of you, you could possibly do worse than you would if you were at a pacified state.
4) When it is your turn to take the test, observe your examiner. Often by observing the examiner, you can tell whether they’ll be a little easier on you than usual so be friendly. 
5) Pay close attention to all the directions the examiner gives you and simultaneously focus on the road. You wouldn’t want your first accident to be on the day you’re hoping to receive your license, n would you?

Once you pass the test and receive your license, you feel free as a bird and relieved that you will never have to take that exam again; however, keep in mind that just because you are now free, you should still drive as safely and skillfully as the way you were taught by your driving instructor.

Once you pass the test and receive the card of freedom:
1) Remember all the rules, lights, signs etc. and actually enforce them while driving.
Just because you have your license now, doesn’t mean you should become a reckless driver and that you shouldn’t turn your signal on for a left turn.
2) Keep the noise level down, whether its from the radio or people talking in the car. You never know when at the most unexpected moment ambulance will be racing down the same lane you are in and you need to be able to hear it ahead of time to know which direction it’s coming from. When you hear/see an ambulance coming, remember to ALWAYS move to your right hand side. Failing to do so could cost you a $600 fine. Ouch!
3) Never text and drive. As simple as it sounds, many teens fail to follow that rule and end up finding themselves in fatal accidents, all due to a single text. Keeping your eyes on the road and arriving to your destination safely is far more important than a text.
4) Avoid having to drive someone under the age of 21 around. If you received your license, you have to follow the one year provisional rule which does not allow you to drive any minors. Sounds like no big deal to take all your friends with you to lunch though right? However, if you get into an accident, you would be paying a high cost for any of your friends who may be injured. Plus, if you are stopped by the cops, you’ll definitely be receiving a not so fun ticket.
5) Focus on your vehicle’s tires, oil, etc. At times, a mishap while driving could occur due to failure and negligence of the cars parts. You want your car to be in the best condition as possible in order to drive safely.

Movie Nights
Movie Night List

Anchor Man
The Big Labowski
Blue Valentine
Caddyshack
Fight Club
Forest Gump
Goodfellas
Good Will Hunting
Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark
Jurassic Park
Life is Beautiful
North by Northwest
The Notebook
Pulp Fiction
Schindler’s List
The Shawshank Redemption
Some Like It Hot
Singing in the Rain
The Sound of Music
Star Wars (any of the movies)
The Sting
Sunset Boulevard
Taxi Driver
Toy Story 1, 2 or 3
Up

Theme Parks
Theme parks can be a little more expensive than the other activities, but if you can get a bunch of friends to go with you, it will be worth it. Disneyland, Universal Studios, and Six Flags are all less than 40 minutes away and can provide a day full of fun and memories.