My friends and I drove around, windows down, and Beyoncé blaring loud enough to attract attention from drivers stopped next to us at redlights. We later laughed about breaking through the bottom of the trampoline we sat on. It felt like summer to me. I was screaming lyrics to songs, not worrying about where I was headed or what the weather was like. It was the night of March 22. We may have all been bundled up in extra large thrift store sweats, but I questioned how it could feel like summer to me on the night of March 22. How far really are we from all the typical warm weather nostalgia at any point in the year?
If summer is Graeter’s and tan legs, what is stopping me from at any point in the year, hitting a tanning bed and swinging by Lane Avenue? Opening myself up to the idea of summer being more a mindset than a season with strict start and end dates keeps me motivated. If I can have summer every month or weekend or day why should I complain and drag along wishing for it? March meant we were roughly two months away from the start date of everyone’s favorite season, yet even for one night, I didn’t wish for May 24.
Everyday we are one day closer to this end date but I encourage you to spend your last few weeks doing things that make it feel like summer. Spend time with people who make you forget what season of the year you are in. Because for nine months of the year, school is what you make of it. Why not always make it summer? If summer is a mindset, think it.