It's the beginning of summer: the weight of finals has finally been lifted off of your chest, the gusts of winter that used to send chills down your spine begin to turn into warm breezes, tarps come off pools, and you finally feel free. Free to do what you've been dreaming about while studying since September. You embody your summer mantra and you're determined to make this one the one for the books that you'll be looking back on for years to come. You're spending your days surrounded by friends, digging your feet into the sand on the beach, and working on your perfect sun-kissed tan.

Then you meet him: at a bar, through a summer job, through friends, a party, or wherever else it may be and you immediately hit it off. You go on a few dates, share laughs, and do spontaneous things. You're first kiss is filled with fireworks and you think: "this will be my favorite memory of summer". As the relationship ignites, you start texting and Snapchatting him day and night you start to think that you really are living your best life this summer. Things continue to heat up and eventually you feel yourself start to catch feelings...

But sooner or later you realize it's always the same scenario, a uniform cycle of jitters followed by let down every summer. The butterflies in your stomach turn to knots as you notice conversations starting to become repetitive and moderately forced. You start hanging out less and less as you start to realize that you are always the one leading the conversations and the one asking to make plans. You lay at night thinking about how perfect he is but I promise you he is only thinking about how to end things in a very short period of time well-knowing that it's going to hurt you. I know this, I've lived through this time and time again, we all have, so why do we all continue to pursue these fleeting relationships annually?

Summer flings are exactly what the title implies: mere flings. With upcoming classes and, in most cases, distance many can attest that few summer romances actually entail delving into a full-fledged relationship. For most of us girls here the question lies: is the craving for passion-filled adventure worth the fleeting abrupt ending? Many say yes and I surprisingly agree with them. I think that we knowingly go after these futile relationships simply because it's summer and for us the memories we share with these boys are worth what we know will end in heartache and them dubbed by a certain nickname between you and your friends.

The relationship that you build with a boy in the summer is like very much comparable to the season as a whole: starting out budding in the beginning, then blooming and beautiful, but eventually withering and dying away until the next warm season comes around. We love and appreciate summer for it's beauty and we do the same for the memories that come with it even if the people that they are made with are no longer a part of our individual forevers. So go ahead girl, be bold. Hit him up first, go on crazy and wild adventures, kiss in public, go outside and soak in the rays of infatuation while you still can; this is YOUR summer, but don't let cupid take over completely. Don't forget your previous experiences and if you haven't had one yet, take this as the sign you've been waiting for and don't fall head over heels for this guy you've just met. Chances are, like the most beautiful flowers of the summer, this too shall fade with time and will leave behind only a lingering scent that you will smell in passing next year which will remind you of fond memories of the past.