The summer before you head off to college is a crucial time that should be spent developing yourself. Every senior should use the three months before starting their new lives to help others while learning about themselves. Volunteer in Africa. Go down to your local soup kitchen. Give spare change to a local homeless person. Do something to help make the world around you a better place.

Taking a few weeks out of your summer and volunteering in a third world country may sound scary and bold, but it can be life changing. Spending two or three weeks at a school or orphanage in developing countries like Ghana, Ethiopia or Haiti can make the biggest difference in the lives of people you help. It will also give you a new outlook on your own life. Returning to Texas after a few weeks in Ghana will help you appreciate the simpler things you had overlooked before. Items we take for granted, such as clean water, electricity, food, shelter and safety, are a privilege for most Ghanaians.

If traveling to a third world country is too extreme for you, than simply spend a few days of your summer at a local soup kitchen. Most people spend their summer days driving past homeless people in their air-conditioned cars, but imagine if you did not have the car, or the air-conditioning, or even the roof over your head. Scary, right? Do your part to help your local community prosper. At soup kitchens, volunteers are always needed. Check out The StewPot and the Soup Mobile in Dallas to see what you can do.

It does not take much to change the world. Change happens in a domino effect. Do some good and tell others of your experiences and this will spark their desire to help as well. This summer, do more than swim, tan and have fun. Do some good by helping people in need.