When I hear the word "summer," I always think of barbecues, fireworks, tan lines, and the hot sun shining down on blades of emerald grass. I think of lazy mornings in PJs until noon, warm summer afternoons hanging out with friends, and eating watermelon and popsicles. However, the expectation and the reality of summer are not always the same and, over time, summer comes to represent different realities.

During elementary school, just as your childhood should be filled with innocent joys, so is summer. For me, it consisted of playing outside, playing games with friends, eating popsicles and setting up a kiddie swimming pool in the backyard, spraying each other with the hose, barbecuing, and loads of bug spray. It also meant being forced to do a summer workbook that my mom insisted we do so we didn't lose our smarts during the summer. I remember every day we'd try our best to avoid having to do the workbook which included lots of math and reading. Math during summer? It was the hardest struggle in those days.

When middle school came, summer was still much the same. There was lots of hanging out with friends, staying outside, but also a lot of tennis. It was in middle school that I began playing tennis and once I began, I wouldn't stop. Summer meant long days in the sun, tennis camps, matches and team tournaments, and lessons. I loved it and I spent every day preparing for high school tennis.

The summer before high school began, all I thought about was tennis tryouts and high school beginning. It was about fear and nerves and excitement. Mostly for me, it was nerves. Most of my friends from middle school were going to East while I was going to North High School. It was time to start over. In ways, this was a really good thing. But for me at the time, making new friends and leaving the ones I had known since elementary school was my biggest concern.

The summer after high school ended was much the same. It was full of nerves and anxiousness. It was time to start all over again, but in a different town with different people in a completely different state. It was also time to have long-yearned for freedom, but at the cost of leaving all my friends that I had gained through high school. Which ones would stay friends? Which ones would drift? How hard would school be now? Who would I meet in college? What experiences would I have? How much would I miss everyone and everything at home, if at all?

Now, summer means trying to work, balance a social life, and keep up with tennis. Some days are all work, some are all tennis, some are late nights with friends. Summer means trying to do it all. Before, it had been focusing on new beginnings, new friends, tennis, or nerves. Now, it is about being productive and doing things to prepare yourself for life beyond school and summer fun. However, it is no different than all these other summers. It is still full of craziness, friends, tennis, and new beginnings. Now, there's expectations beyond doing my summer workbook or trying out for the high school tennis team. Summer changes meaning over time, but the themes never change.