Summer is always considered this beautiful, magical time in which everyone has constant fun and no responsibilities. Every person can agree that they look forward to summer each year. During those bitter cold months of winter, we romanticize summer, focusing on the positive parts and let the promise of those memories carry us through the dead of winter. However, now that we are here, in the middle of summer, I believe we all can agree that it is not perfect.
Sure, in the first few weeks we cannot get enough of the warm sunny days, the delicious ice cream, and the beach. But once we reach that summer slump, all the romantic parts of summer fade into reality. We begin to dread the sun and the heat it brings, hate the drippy mess that ice cream makes and become sick of the sun burns and sand we always return from the beach with.
The summer slump is the part of the summer when reality sets in. After all the fireworks on the Fourth have passed, and the novelty of the new summer season has come and gone, people often reach the point when summer stops holding the promise of endless fun and excitement. Instead, they are gripped with the struggles that come along with summer. In the summer slump many people are finally gripped with boredom in the face of too much free time, or the monotony of a less than ideal summer job. All those fun projects and trips that the summer once promised now fade into the background as people lose the excitement that originally fueled them at the beginning of summer. Instead, many people get stuck in an endless boring routine that often leaves little room for the fun in the sun associated with summer.
Summer can also mean separation from friends and family, which may be fine at the start of summer, but by the slump, the loneliness sets in. We begin to look forward to the end of summer, so long as it means unification with friends and the exhilaration they bring. In the face of the slump we forget everything we looked forward to in the first place.
To those who, like me, are really feeling the summer slump right now -- don’t worry. The best part about slumps is that they don’t last forever. They can easily be broken, reigniting the spark that summer puts into our lives. As hard as it might be, break the routine. Spend a day, or even just a few hours doing something fun, unique, or exciting. Go to a concert, a fair, or anything that is unusual and exciting to you. This will remind you of the best parts of summer and what you look forward to every year. Or try to start a project that you promised yourself you would.
Even though summer is half over and it seems too late to start, remind yourself that you still have a whole month and a half to accomplish whatever you put your mind to. With more time to go, we need to overcome our slumps and make the best of the time we have.
