I’ve always been a summer girl. There’s just something about late-evening sun, flip flops, and a hot breeze that brings a smile to my face. It reminds me of home and childhood in a way that none of the other seasons can.
Though fall has never been a favorite season, I can enjoy various aspects of this time of year: school starting, the leaves turning, and football. It’s really a rather pleasant season when I think about it.
But this year I’ve resisted. I’ve refused to acknowledge that it was fall. In my head I’d just tell myself it’s still summer. No need for sweaters, jackets, or socks. I’ll wear flip flops all winter long, because it’s going to stay warm. I don’t need to worry about papers, finals, or Christmas presents, because those days aren’t going to arrive. It’s going to be summer forever and ever.
I believe the reason why I’ve been wanting summer to last forever is because I realize that with the changing of the seasons comes the changing of a season of life. Once winter is here, I’ll no longer be a student, losing the last vestige of being a kid. Once the winter comes, I’ll no longer be able to wrap myself up in homework and get lost in a paper. This is it: the end of the road. After this there is no more school, no more childhood.
Though I’ve tried to cling to summer, I can’t help but notice that it is slipping through my hands. There seems to be a chill in the wind that wasn’t there before. The air conditioner in my car and in my home aren’t working as hard. The sun goes down much to soon. I’ve kept these thoughts in the back of my head until one day, when I had to spend much of the day outside in the cold, wind, and rain. I wasn’t dumb, so I brought a sweater and a jacket, but even those things weren’t enough to keep my barely-polished toes warm in my worn flip flops.
I realized it was silly to try to fight the changing of the seasons. I can no more stop myself from growing up then I can stop the summer from turning to fall then turning to winter.
I went home to my grown-up apartment, turned on the heater, and put on a warm pair of socks. It’s fall, and it’s about time to enjoy it.
It’s fall. As in, it’s no longer summer.