Summer, my dear friend, it's finally your time to leave again. Your scorching waves from that "summer sun" have finally run their course over us, and it's time we bid you adieu. It's time for high school students around the world to return to their seven hour class schedules, time for teachers to fall back into lesson planning, and time for college students to ship themselves back to their dorms. You're leaving, and fall is creeping around the corner, but, before you're gone, I have to address one thing.

There's a reason that people look forward to you all year round, and it's not just because of buying snowcones and being able to swim in cool pools. When you come around, something special happens. Maybe it's the fact that people everywhere sweat off two layers of skin in your outrageous heat, and because of that, we get closer to people's hearts.

As speaking for myself, summer, you did something great for me this year. I'm leaving to begin my freshman year of college, and before you came along, I couldn't wait to leave. I was beyond ready to pack my bags, to start that next chapter in my life. I blinked, and senior year was over. I graduated, knowing I was one step closer from finally getting away, and all I had to do now was survive you, summer. All I had to do was get through this seasonal change, and I was free.

But then, something changed. Something in the air shifted. Days grew longer, sunsets looked even more breathtaking, stars shown brighter, and people grew more heartfelt. In the course of these summer days, people I've known my entire life have grown closer to me in ways I've never imagined before, and people I've never met until you came around, summer, befriended me in a way that felt like we had known each other for years. While you're around, summer, these memories feel like they'll last forever, memories that may not even seem like a big deal to some, like sitting around and talking with a few friends after work, or laying around and watching the stars while talking about where life was going to take us. Maybe riding backroads and blaring stereos doesn't seem important to some, but it felt like once in a lifetime memories to me.

When we're caught in your timeless moments, we feel infinite.

But then, the unimaginable occurs. Just as quick as you began, you're gone. I know you're not a real person, but you've got a gypsy soul, summer. You come around once a year, you sway our hearts, you make us feel like we're stronger than the world. You make us feel like we're all free spirits. When you're around, reality is altered, time is altered. It doesn't matter if it's a Tuesday at four in the afternoon, adventure is always possible. But when you leave, we fall back into our patterns and schedules. We no longer have the power to do whatever we want when we want or see whoever we want when we want, because we have responsibilities to worry about. We have high school, we have college, we have jobs. When you're gone, we're reminded just how structured our lives have to be.

Before you came, summer, I couldn't wait to begin that structure. I couldn't wait to jump into college. Now that you've come and gone, I wish you'd come back. I would go through every day of your blazing heat, just to relive one more summer memory. Because now the moment I thought I wanted for the longest has arrived, and I'm not ready to begin. I'm not ready to let go of the relationships I've made this summer. I'm not ready to start my next chapter, because I still don't want to believe that this chapter is over.

But, it is. And instead of feeling down, I'm overly thankful for you, summer. I thank you for bringing me close to the people that you have, and I thank you for giving me the memories you have. You opened up a new door in my heart, and I'm forever thankful for that. You gave me times that I'll never forget, and you gave me friendships that I will never break. You gave me a reason to push through this first year of college, so that way I can hurry up and get to your outreagous heat and make memories all over again.

So, goodbye summer. Can't wait for next year.