09/10/2018

The freshwater was always more blue, the sunsets more vibrant, and the air a little crisper before the good bye.

There is just something about a Northern Michigan summer that makes falling in love so damn easy.

So here's how to always goes... you meet a cute boy from the Great Lake State, immediately start crushing on him and just like that, your summer journey begins. It usually begins with a casual trip to the beach with some friends, maybe a day spent hiking the beautiful shoreline, possibly a trip to a local ice cream shop or maybe even a trip out on the open water. Say you pick the last option and you're out on the lake jet skiing, perfect! You can get nice and close, holding on for dear life as he whips you all over the water. Say you go boating instead, even better! He can teach you how to be a professional wake surfer and you'll show up all of his guy friends that are up visiting from out of town for the summer. Either or any way at all, you like him and he likes you.

Fast forward to the last remaining days of summer. You have to say good bye before you both head back to college, but how do you? Do you pretend nothing happened and just leave everything behind just like that? Do you plan on talking while away for the fall semester? Or do you give a "I'll see you when I see you" and go on with your life a little heart broken but a lot a bit thankful? To be honest, all options have some valuable pros and cons, however, I'll explain what I did and why.

A little bit of background knowledge... the boy I liked was heading off to a different school than me, a school in a completely different state. I knew long distance wasn't something either of us wanted, but at the same time we didn't want to walk out of each others lives altogether. So, when the time came we did the ole "I'll see you when I see you" and took different paths. Sometimes leaving behind people and things we love most can be the most beneficial for our health, both mental and emotional. Good byes are never easy, especially when you get so close to someone in such a short amount of time and have so much fun doing it. But the reality of it is there will always be another summer, another cute boy to fall for, and another good bye patiently waiting behind the last sunset of summer.

My advice to is, let him throw you off the dock into the freezing cold water and when the time comes, let yourself say good bye to a little piece of summer.