Think.

By the time August comes around, I start getting that sinking, depressed feeling inside me that every kid has experienced.  It’s inevitable.  Everybody knows that August means summer is coming to an end.  It’s not actually over but everyone makes it seem like it is because, let’s be honest, school’s right around the corner.  Those annoying back-to-school commercials start playing more and more frequently and make you want to scream at your TV and kill everyone that thinks buying backpacks and notebooks is even remotely fun.  But, as Panic at the Disco would say, “Put another X on the calendar, summer’s on its deathbed.” 

It’s hard to believe that my summer vacation started May 13th and here I am, three months later, mourning its end.  It hasn’t felt like three months.  It never does when it’s summer.  But I really can’t complain.  I had a ridiculously long break.  I thought I was going to see all my friends a million times and, in a way, I did.  However, I didn’t get to see a lot of friends as much as I would’ve liked to.  I saw my two best friends a lot and that was fun as hell but the other guys and girls?  Not so much.  But, like I said, I really can’t complain.  I didn’t have to work one night shift this summer thanks to my job.  I make my own hours and I always work from 11am to whenever I feel like leaving.  So not only do I not have to wake up early, I also don’t have to work nights and miss out on any plans.  It’s a beautiful thing. 

But, with this summer coming to an end, I can successfully say I’ve accomplished some goals.  I’ve made some good money, bought some cool shit, and had some great memories with my friends.  I definitely won’t forget this summer, even if I didn’t write much about it.  I’m not sure if last summer was better or not but I still have a few more days to make this one even more memorable.  I’ve got girls to see and guys to goof around with.  I’ve got money to make and stories to write.  Who knows what I can accomplish in these next 9 days before school starts.  One thing is for certain, I’ll be scrolling through my phone book and hitting up all my friends so I can hang out with them one last time before college.  It’s the common tragedy of all college students.  Our high school friends and lifelong buddies go separate ways for a few months and we’re forced to part ways for the time being.  There’s no doubt college is an awesome experience but we’ll all miss our friends at home.  Unless you have none, of course.  But it’s especially tragic for me; a commuter college student on a boring island in a school with chain-smoking, fitted-hat-wearing goons every five feet.  But Hey, school is school and I do what I gotta do.  I still have my best friend with me on the island so it can’t ever be that bad. 

But back to summer!  Even though summer is fantastic, it isn’t as laid back as it used to be.  I’ve worked the majority of my summer days.  I miss the days where I would wake up around 10:30 or 11, sneak downstairs, and put on a video game until my Mom yelled at me to come up.  I loved waking up to a beautiful day and thinking about all the stuff I was going to do.  I remember two summers ago, whenever it was nice out, I’d hit up all my friends around noon and we’d go to Bloomingdale Park or Miller Field at 1:30 or 2:00 and play soccer or football until we passed out from heat exhaustion.  Now the most we do is play basketball at night because everyone’s busy during the day and I’m not even good at basketball.  But a couple of weeks ago I actually played night wiffleball at a dead end with a couple of my friends.  It brought back some memories.  I miss all that stuff.  I miss being a kid and not having a care in the world.  I would wake up and the day would be mine to do whatever I wanted.  Now I got a schedule and things I gotta do.  It all comes with becoming an adult but, in the words of The Maine, “Growing up won’t bring us down”.  You just have to learn to accept your responsibilities and embrace the little things in life that make you happy. 

Making money is definitely a great feeling but I’m still getting used to the fact that I’m going to be working for the rest of my life.  I’m not used to it yet.  I’m still in the phase where all I care about is hanging out with my friends and having enough money to fill up my gas tank.  I’m not ready to be a grown up yet.  But with another summer coming to an end, I get closer and closer to that grown up world.  I’m 19 years old and I only have about seven months left of being a teenager.  It’s kind of depressing but there’s nothing I can do to reverse the process of life.  All I can do is try and take life by the horns and explore the new things I can do as an adult that I couldn’t have done as a kid.  When I turn 20, I’ll turn the page in my life story.  I’ll open myself up to a new decade; a new chapter.  It’s only just the beginning.

Summer 2012, you’ve been good to me.  I’ve done some things I shouldn’t have done and followed my heart instead of my brain at times but, like I said, it all comes with growing up.  You live and you learn, and I’m going to continue to live and learn and better myself as a person.  So let’s make a toast to a summer full of mistakes we may or may not learn from and memories we’ll take with us to the grave.

Drinks up.