Sometimes, figuring out what to editorialize on means banging your head against a wall for a while. Then, it might happen that an assistant news editor says in response to a smart remark that it’s the simplest things that are funniest.

And that got us thinking.

The four years — more for some, less for others — that we spend in college are a great opportunity to branch out into previously uncontemplated extracurriculars and cultivate abilities you never thought you had. Summer, with its time off, is a similar opportunity.

It’s fast paced for some, with short classes, internships and jobs. But if you have the chance to take some time off and do what you want to do (as opposed to what you need to do to graduate on time or build your resume for a career), do it.

Summer is for fun, which doesn’t take a lot of effort. You don’t have to do all kinds of impressive, large-scale things to have a meaningful experience.

So what if you go home for three months, or stay in Ames over the summer? Studying abroad isn’t everything, nor is landing an internship at your favorite company in New York or San Francisco. For better or worse, for instance, there are students here at Iowa State who passed up offers at the University of Edinburgh, Notre Dame, Columbia, Northwestern and others.

They don’t regret it. They learned quickly that it’s all about what you do with your opportunities and choices.