It’s a Friday night and after a long week of classes, exams, and god knows what else, you’re ready to spend your weekend going wild with your friends. But there’s a little problem.

Friend 1 says he’s out of town for the weekend. Friend 2 says she’s visiting her sister at Pitt. Friend 3 says he’s going on vacation with his family…and by the end it seems everyone you were looking forward to getting trashed with has bailed on you for the weekend.

Oh the humanity! What ever will you do? Fear not, my lonely Lions, for there’s plenty to keep you occupied when everyone you know and care for has abandoned you. Here’s a couple options to sooth your aching souls.

Actually, like, do some work

You might be tempted to just curl in a ball and hibernate until this lonesome weekend is over, but you could actually make your valuable time not tick away in vain. I’m sure you have plenty of work that’s been piling up, and that exam that’s been making you nauseous just thinking about it is coming up this week. And then there’s the house work. The bathroom has to be cleaned eventually, and those dishes don’t do themselves. Plus there’s all those errands you have to get done. Why not buckle down and use this time wisely? I’m sure your grades, and your roommates, will appreciate your hard labor.

Relax!

Yeah, I knew you wouldn’t stop reading. Why on earth would I assume people would want to use their free time for important stuff? Work is for future me to worry about; present me just wants to take some time for myself. Lay down in bed and catch up on that show you like. Pick a book up from the shelf or turn on a movie. I know my Netflix queue is only growing longer as the semester goes on.

Walk around town

Sometimes when I’m bored and there’s nothing to do, I’ll just go walk around State College and see if I see anything cool. I always find some new restaurant that looks tasty or a rad little store tucked in some corner. Why not go hiking around and see what you can find? Just don’t think that every dark alley contains some sort of potential for wonderment and adventure. Some people just aren’t that friendly.

Learn something new

Free time is a time for discovery in my opinion. For example, if I’m bored I’ll look up cool recipes or dishes I’ve had before and try my best to replicate them. Plus, if you have to go to the grocery store to buy ingredients, that’s a nice excuse to go do some much-needed shopping. Or maybe try your luck with whatever you have around! If you cook up some potato chips, you can make them like crisp little homefries. Add a some eggs and sausage in the mix and you’ve got a tasty breakfast. Want to learn more about a particular topic? There’s nothing like doing a deep dive down some rabbit hole on the internet for an hour. Work that brain out for once.

Catch up with some other people

I’m sure there’s other people you sort of know besides your friends, right? That person you only talk to in that Gen Ed math class. That one dude who’s always cracking jokes at club meetings. Why not hit them up and see what’s popping? If you’re really desperate for human contact, I’m sure there are plenty of people to help you forget your mind numbing loneliness for a weekend. Is there that special somebody who makes your heart flutter every time they walk by? See what they’re up to! Maybe if you’re really lucky you’ll go from “We’re sorta friends I guess, like we talk sometimes,” to “Yeah we hang out sometimes.”

Work out

Working out and becoming a loyal gym rat takes dedication and patience. Instead of sitting on your butt all weekend, you could be burning off some calories. It’s not like you have to go do some hardcore lifting and pump some iron Schwarzenegger style. Just a nice little run around town or campus is good enough. Maybe get into some pickup basketball or volleyball at the IM Building. Anything that gets the heart pumping and sweat pouring is good enough. And no, just walking up that hill to campus from downtown doesn’t count.

Make your own fun

Find fun things to do outside of your place! If you’re over 21, go down to a bar and get some drinks. Maybe chill out and watch whatever game is on the TV or chat with some fellow patrons. Go to a movie theater and watch whatever everyone’s been talking about. There’s no shame in going to the movies alone — I recommend it honestly if there’s something you just have to see. I saw Blade Runner 2049 last weekend and it was amazing. Highly recommend. I think I got more out of it watching it on my own than having my friends talking and chewing popcorn the whole time, and then having to explain what’s going on every five seconds.

Got any hobbies? Go take that hike you’ve been itching to do for a while now. You’ll feel so one with nature afterwards. Do you like to draw? Do some sketches! All this free time can go towards having fun however you like, without anyone saying, “No thanks, let’s do something else.” The world is your oyster.

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There’s plenty to do even when you don’t have anyone to do it all with. Use your time alone as a blessing, and maybe even use it think about how much you care about your friends (awwww!). Got any cool ideas I was too tired to think of? Let us know in the comments below!