Once again summer’s blazing horizon is upon us, and another semester nears its sunset.
It’s the same aura every year at the end of the spring semester. We sit at the edge of our seats waiting for previews of summer blockbuster hits, but aren’t quick to forget the mad rush of last minute assignments and the inevitable finals week.
However, I believe a few exams over material I don’t remember learning is a small price to pay for my freedom.
All that’s between us and a beach excursion is responsibility. Why God? Hear my plea of disparity. Why the torment? We’re only college kids!
But exaggeration aside, before we know it, the exams will have come and gone, and summer will breathe its incandescent breath into our lifeless lives. It’s intense when you think about how much time has actually passed in our lives.
This is my third end of the spring semester, and my 21st summer approaching, although Summers ’05-07 seem to be the only ones that I can remember.
Summer has been progressively declining in recreation and increasing in maturity.
The summer of ’05 was the drunken, “I just graduated from an all-boys private school, and now I want to see how long my liver can hold out.” Despite my immaturity, I still experienced a “Eurotrip” that has shaped my views of the world and has caused my continuous cultural sensitivity to this day.
I spent ’06 learning what it means to work a job. It was the summer of The Kansas Roadtrip, and it proved to be the most unsavory excursion I have ever been on. Oklahoma is not a state, but an evil republic run by casinos. Two speeding tickets, racist cops and a dead armadillo later, I still haven’t gotten over it. The summer of ’07 was more depressing as I experienced two cancer-inspired funerals, and missed Van’s Warped Tour in Houston, TX.
My current outlook now is that it can only get better from here. Gas prices will be ridiculous, but I don’t care because summertime is a time to live. Only now balance will be implemented between my desire for social interaction and necessity to make a living.
My three past summers possessed qualities which are all essential to life and to an ultimate summer experience. I will have time to study languages, read novels and travel, while still keeping reality in perspective with work and summer school.
We are all the total sum of our experiences, and should do our best to take positivity to heart whether our summers yield Rome or a funeral. This summer will be full of expectations and fruitful encounters.