I know what you're thinking. "It's August already? I haven't done anything but work!" We are all victims of this. Summer starts, and you and your friends text in your group chat all the things you want to do this summer. You say you want to go the beach at least three times week, workout five times a week, catch some baseball games, go to Six Flags, and go skydiving because you didn't go last summer. Everyone's excited and you say, "this is going to be the best summer ever!" Then the realistic one of your friend group, whom everyone secretly hates says, "We don't have the money right now, so let's wait."
A couple weeks go by, and now everyone is back in the working mentality. You're working five days a week trying to make up for the eight month spending spree you were on in college. It's May, so it's also a little too cold to spend your off day at the beach, so you end up working almost every day thinking, "I'll save my days off for when it's really hot."
Work starts to pick up, and now the days are going faster than you ever remembered. You haven't looked at a calendar since school ended, so to see that it's already July, makes you wonder, "What did I do this summer?" This epiphany makes you stand up and take the next three days off. You're excited, you haven't had three consecutive days off all summer! Your mind races with endless possibilities of what you can do over these next three days. Your high quickly turns to disappointment because all of your friends are working on those days. Your plans of three action packed, non-stop fun with friends just turned into sleeping till noon and going to the movies with your parents.
Summer may have been a disappointment so far, but the 4th of July is the real turning point of summer, in my opinion. Country concerts, fireworks, barbecue's, late night boat rides, and camp outs under the stars are the highlights of a great 4th of July weekend. But as the great Geoffrey Chaucer once said, "All good things must come to an end." By Monday morning you're working harder than ever, trying to make back all that money you spent this weekend.
When August 1 hits, it's like time stops. All your friends start to realize how many days they have left before they head back to college, and when the last day of work will be. Then you say, "Wow, I haven't done anything memorable this summer." The only stories you can remember are work stories. Not any funny moments with your friends, but funny and irritating moments at work. August makes you realize all those summer goals like skydiving, working out five days a week, and going to the beach more, never came true. The month of August is filled with school shopping, complaining about how much money you don't have, last minute vacations with your family, and tearful goodbyes with some of your closest friends. But it's also filled with excitement and anticipation. The anxious weeks standing between seeing your roommate and all your college friends you haven't seen in four months.
August makes you realize how much time you have left with your lifelong friends. It makes you realize that there is still time left to cross off some of those unfulfilled goals you had at the beginning of summer. And it also makes you realize that just because you didn't go anywhere out of the ordinary, doesn't mean you "didn't do anything."
