Dear Summer,
I see you every year, so how can I say goodbye? I suppose I’m saying goodbye to our past. You remember the good ol’ days, right? The days where you taught me how to be a carefree, wild child. As I near my senior year of college, I think of those days more than ever now. As I embark on what will be a very busy summer, I feel a bittersweet ache in my chest.
Whenever you came around, you meant freedom. You meant no homework, no responsibility, and tons of sleep. You meant complete and utter relaxation. Summer, you presented yourself as never-ending hot days that turned into never-ending cool nights. You showed your love through your freckled skin and random scraps on your knees from too much play.
Your “hello’s" echoed through the flicker of the street lights, the yellow light pouring on my friends and I as we refused to go inside. Your “take a break's" fell onto us as gentle rain and rolling storms. By the time it was September, I could barely handle your usual “see you soon.”
As I grew older, your adventures grew as well. Nights in the neighborhood were replaced with night time driving with friends. Mornings with cereal were replaced with meet-ups for breakfast. Sure, I was closer to being an adult, but you were still my carefree sunshine. I was desperate to keep up with you.
Soon, though, those carefree nights turned into friends getting summer jobs. Soon, my sun-kissed skin couldn’t help but worry about college and the future. The future, something you always took part in, but suddenly your familiar comfort wasn’t enough.
Summer, I think we hit our biggest bump in the months before I started college. You were filled with "goodbyes." You were filled with job hunting. You were filled with maturity and that was hard to swallow. I barely recognized you or myself.
It got better from there, though, didn’t it? You taught me how to balance responsibility and fun. You were now filled with hello's and welcome back's rather than goodbyes. You grew with me, Summer. We didn’t really lose each other.
Though you’ve barely started, I know I’ll learn a lot from you this year as I prepare for my future. I’ll be honest, I had my fears. I feared that missing your carefree days would lead me to miss out on precious moments. I realized, though, that I won’t be missing out. My experiences with you will just be different like they always turned out to be. I may be saying goodbye to our past, but I’m also saying hello to our future. I’m saying hello to who we’ll become.
