From the middle of August to early September, the entire country goes through a period of transition. Kindergartners enter a new chapter of childhood at the same time college freshman enter adulthood. Teachers and professors alike brace themselves for a completely new year with completely new students.
Every year around this time, I find myself tightly grasping onto my fleeting summer, already reminiscing about the endless amount of pool days, late night Sonic runs, road trips, and adventuring. More often than not, I forget about all of the wonderful things in my life that don't have to end with the beginning of school. Here are just five:
You can still stay close to your friends!
Your time with your friends doesn't have to be limited just because summer is over! Sure, your summer swim parties might turn into Halloween costume parties, and your 12:00 a.m. phone calls might become earlier 9:00 p.m. calls, but the act of prioritizing your friendships remains the same.
In fact, during the beginning madness of school starting up, you may begin to realize which of your friends still make time for you and which ones push you to the back burner. While your education and extracurricular activities are beyond important, your friends and the commitments you have to them are too.
The school year can be as stress free as summer.
Most of us are way more relaxed in the summer due to the decrease in commitments, responsibilities, and involvement in general. I please ask you to refrain from automatically going into hyper-active-anxiety mode just because you now have a schedule to follow.
If I learned anything from high school, it is that time management is vital, and procrastination is a killer! If you have a planner and stick to a regimented to-do list, you will feel completely accomplished and on top of the game rather than stressed out and worried. It's possible to keep a stress-free mentality; you just have to work for it!
The time you spend outside doesn't have to decrease.
One of my favorite things about summer is spending time outdoors because I absolutely live for the bright sun on my face and the warm breeze in my hair.
Guess what I also love: pumpkin patches, fall festivals, apple orchards, hayrides, bonfires, and football games. Every year I am pleasantly overwhelmed by the beauty mother nature brings us during the fall months and want to spend every second I can soaking it up.
The food is still good!
While summer reminds me of fresh fruit and barbecue, fall reminds me of pumpkin spice lattes and apple pies.
We might not have as much time to leisurely eat all day as we did over the summer, but we can definitely gorge ourselves on fall holidays such as Thanksgiving with the flavors of fall. I definitely look forward to all of the spices and meals that come with the changing seasons.
Fall fashion is not a downgrade from summer fashion.
Summer fashion is something a lot of people live by. From the VSCO girls' crop tops and Birkenstock's to the reemergence of short shorts in men's fashion, summer gives people a lot of variety in what they wear.
However, fall fashion brings us oversized sweaters and flannels, jeans of all sorts, bomber and denim jackets, boots, and so much more. It's hard to be sad that summer is ending when we have so much to look forward to in the world of fashion.
As fall is just around the corner, I look forward to similar things that I did in summer because, while they definitely undergo changes, they essentially remain same.
