Dear Summer,
We seem to always be waiting upon your arrival. After Easter break, we seem to be thrown into a pit of nothingness: the time between April and June that seems to be an incessant march of school, homework, and sleep that isn’t even long enough to be classified as a power nap. “The home stretch,” they call it. The final assignments and tests before that last bell rings and we exit the school building out into the gleaming sun and sigh that sigh of relief that has been cooped up inside our burning lungs since the second week of school.
And just when you seem so close, we lose sight of you in this massive forest of work that we all excitedly await: finals. You are dangled in our faces and then ripped away at the last second, just fast enough for us to plunge into an ocean of stress and anxiety. We are left to face the final moments of the school year in -10° classrooms while the outside taunts us with its sunshine and warmth.
We count down the months, days, hours, minutes, and even seconds until the final bell rings and we can go to our lockers to retrieve any last items waiting for their return ticket home. We scoop 10 months of compiled tests, quizzes, homework, projects, and assignments into our arms and walk out the beloved doors that symbolize the relief of our stress for 2 months.
And, in all your glory, you had arrived. Beautiful 110° days in our presence all at once.
And then you were gone.
2 months of smiles and laughter after being splashed in the pool, gone. Stress-free days in the sun, gone. Beach days and vacations, gone. Summer, gone.
And so much left to do. Those promises to get up while it’s still morning not yet satisfied. Those new hobbies and activities not yet completed. Those ideas of hanging out with friends all day compromised by laziness and our deep love of sleep.
As we approach school on that early August morning, we are reminded of the many reasons we somewhat enjoy these school mornings, at least as much as we can. Waking up before the clock says p.m. and the crisp feeling of the seven o’clock breeze welcomes us into the new day.
But then we are also accompanied by the longing of more sleep, the desire the crawl back in bed after getting up in the morning, the procrastination of homework and studying.
Back to glorious late nights of schoolwork and studying as our eyes become so tired we are forced to rest them for just one minute—or maybe a few hours. Back to waking up late and having to rush to school just to take that test we were anxious about all weekend. Back to dragging ourselves through the same old routine: class, locker, class, lunch, class, class, home. And even when we’re home we continue on with school’s everlasting rotation of work.
Summer, we miss you. Come quicker. And if you’re not available at this time of year, send your close friend Thanksgiving break—and maybe even Christmas break too.
Sincerely,
Hannah Williamson
Photo Credits: Cara Chialtas
