Everybody has discussed at some point which season of the year reigns supreme. These discussions are highly contested at times and are a personal preference ultimately. Still, I contend that most people would select summer as their favorite season, and it’s hard to fault them for believing so.
The pleasures are apparent; school is out for months, temperatures have increased, people vacation to exhilarating places and there’s an abundance of free time that many people can't maintain during other seasons. It is easy to understand the pros of summer without mentioning the downsides as often as the downsides we attribute to fall, winter and spring.
Although it is so straightforward to understand the joys of summer, every golden opportunity in life has the chance to fall flat. Summer is no different in that regard.
Don't get me wrong, I love planning to get together with friends and family while focusing on getting as much relaxation as the next guy. However, each summer during my life has felt more like a boring hiatus than the long break I looked forward to growing up.
Since my freshman year at Ohio University in the fall of 2021, I have fallen in love with the sense of autonomy over my day-to-day actions in a manner I never experienced. Spending each fall, winter, and spring pushing toward creating the best possible future for myself has been such a rewarding experience. I became very comfortable very quickly at OU, so leaving the school to return home for three months felt like putting the most important parts of my life on pause to return to a different version of home only a few years removed from high school.
It was never like this before college. The summer once topped my list. It was the relaxing break that I needed away from school. It was the escape my mind needed because my school routine felt so repetitive by the end of the year that I welcomed each long summer day with open arms. Now the dog days set in sooner than they ever have.
School is more varied than it used to be because there is so much more to my time at OU than focusing on getting the best grades possible. I am spending my time at school, shedding the past 18 years of my life while meeting new unique people daily, trying to keep a productive lifestyle and applying myself to more significant possibilities to understand who I want to be.
The biggest realization I have had about the summer is that it will not be as remarkable as it was before college ever again, but it doesn’t need to be. The stresses of becoming a functioning adult are more prevalent with each passing day. There is plenty to contemplate, and the summer has given me nothing but the time to think about it. Letting a beneficial time of the year quickly pass me by has made the time spent during it feel unfulfilled in retrospect.
The limitless possibilities of the summer are always available to people, young and old. The vast amounts of free time to relax the mind, body and soul are always the best positives of the summer. Still, it is necessary to be mindful of what the best way to enjoy the summer is for you.
My concluding opinion of the summer is not to let the overwhelming possibilities of it distract you from the fact that it is only a fraction of the year. Spending so much time worrying about people and places so distant from you daily will distract you from enjoying the present as much as possible. You have to take the summer for what it is and find as much enjoyment as possible, otherwise, you end up back at school worrying about how you let another summer pass by.
Benjamin Wilk is a junior studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. What are your thoughts? Let Ben know by emailing him at bw327020@ohio.edu.
