Coming home from my first year at college, my views on summer have changed a little bit. Now, half my friends are scattered across the country and the globe, and for the most part I won’t see them again until next year. As a high schooler, summer was this glorious expanse of free time when you could finally get all of your friends in one place. Now, my views have changed a little bit. There’s places to visit, people to see, and money to make so you can afford next semester. But summer’s not all work and hardship. Without further ado, here are the 5 best things that summer has to offer (for me at least).

1. Watermelon:

Bought fresh off the farmstand, this fruit is hydrating and delicious and it sucks that you can only get good watermelon during the summer months. It’s good for your skin, and I could definitely eat at least two in a sitting, by myself. Watermelon is what completes the feeling of summer, taking you back to the days when your mom would cut up a big bowl for you and your friends after a hot afternoon in the sun. It was the perfect treat after soccer practice, sweet and refreshing. Bonus if there was a kid on your team who ate the rind.

2. Sunshine:

Going to college in Western New York, there is precipitation most of the days out of the year. In the winter, we’re lucky to see the sun once a week. But at home, in the summer, it’s 84 and humid and the sun is shining as if it will never get another chance. While this can get annoying, if you’ve got a proper pair of sunglasses, sufficient sunscreen, and enough patience, you fall in love with that glowing ball of gas 9 million miles away.

3. Old Friends:

I know some of you out there probably were in a real hurry to leave high school. You packed up your stuff and hopped into the car without a backward glance. But I wasn’t in such a hurry. I spent the last 2 months of school playing “One Last Time” from Hamilton on repeat because I felt like George Washington stepping down from the presidency. I can’t wait to visit all of my high school friends and hear about their adventures in the big wide world. I am so excited for 3 months of bonfires and “Oh my gosh, this one time last year…” I miss all my buds, and while I love my new friends, I can’t wait to see the old ones again.

4. Water:

The fall, winter, and spring months are, for the most part, utterly void of water sports. For someone like me, this is a tragedy. I love being in the water, on the water, and near the water. I love oceans, but I love lakes more, and I especially love boating with my friend Carly. I can’t wait to go waterskiing with her again, to go tubing, and just to float on the water with the sun shining down. I can’t wait to go kayaking with my friend Connor again. I just want to be floating, cool and weightless, as the hours go by.

5. Adventures:

Yes, there are plenty of adventures to be had at college. I can always find a crew ready to go exploring. But there’s never quite enough time to just get lost, and that is what I crave. I can’t wait to put on a backpack and head out into the woods with a couple of friends and no map. You never know what you might find.