Do you smell that? It’s the stench of desperation. It’s the stench of long nights and shaky hands, of loathing and perseverance: Final’s Week. During that time you might want to take a second and look at the hustle and bustle of the campus. Beautiful, no?

The warm weather has everything looking much better now that the snow has melted. Hard to imagine, but in less than a month’s time the population of this city is going to be literally decimated, taking away much of the natural beauty the city possesses along with it.

Thousands of us will be heading home for the summer months before returning in the fall, and that is going to leave this place looking like a barren wasteland. It’s actually going to look more like a ghost town. Trust me. Having spent two summers here, I know exactly how quiet Iowa City gets during the summer.

Sure, you get the arts festivals happening, and some concerts here and there, there’s even the reservoir to head out to and cool down if you get the chance. But if you live here with nothing to do over the summer, you might drive yourself crazy (more so than trying to get along being a student here).

The important thing to keep in mind is that you need to readjust your pace of life for the next few months if you want to get along swimmingly. That’s one of the great parts about this town in the summer. Everyone knows how to relax. The lack of schoolwork certainly helps (even if you are taking a class or two). If you can manage to slow down and kick back, you’ll find that Iowa City in the summertime is its own temporary paradise.

A big plus is the police. Ever since the 21 ordinance it’s like this town turned into a police state. Since when is it necessary to post up in front of the Ped Mall on a Tuesday night WHEN NO ONE GOES OUT ON TUESDAY NIGHTS ANYMORE!?

As you might have noticed I find the whole situation a bit frustrating. But the great thing is that the police are generally nonexistent and laid back in the summer. They know that there aren’t any big crowds to worry about, and consequently there is less of a mob mentality downtown.

Less crowds means the bars aren’t busy, streets aren’t congested, which means Iowa City becomes one big magnificent playground for the few 20-somethings that choose to live here. Honestly, if you don’t spend one summer in Iowa City during your college career you might as well have never graduated.

The summer in itself is a time for renewed revival and vitality in the things you weren’t able to attend to during the school year. Being able to do that on campus with a few close friends when no one else is around is indescribable. It might be the first opportunity some people have at defining what the word “family” means.

You and your friends will have an unimaginably incredible experience. You’ll get so stuck in the ways of summer that when the sun starts to get at its hottest, and the multitudes begin to make their way back to Mecca, you won’t quite know how to get over the previous three months. And stuck you will remain until you realize that you will always have one more summer to try it all over again.  ASGF.