Recapturing the Summertime Myth

I finally completed my undergraduate career about 10 days ago which means it is now summertime. At least, until I find a job but I figure I deserve some sort of break for now. My last few summers have been dedicated to either taking a summer class or prepping for some standardized test, so this should be a great time to enjoy myself until I head off to the "real world" where summer breaks seemingly no longer exist.

But there's a bit of a problem. I don't feel like it is really summertime. Granted the first 2 weeks of so for summer break, I always sit around doing nothing just catching up on TV shows and more importantly catching up on my reading. I have plenty of things planned for the summer but I just don't have that same feel of excitement that comes with being on break. At first, I thought it was because I was in the initial stage of break where I sit around, but that's not it.

I think it's the dread that this will be my last summer ever and therefore, the pressure to make it the best summer ever. I don't doubt that I can make it great but I don't have the same feeling that always came with the anticipation of summertime fun. That got me thinking, why does it have to be summertime when you're young that has all of this fun? Why can't it be springtime as a young adult or wintertime at middle age? It's always youth with summertime. 

It's this great myth that this is the time to be young and have fun because apparently, it can't happen at any other time. It has to be now from late May to early September. This sudden magical time that really does not have that much more of a significance other than the weather ranging from great to unbearably hot (perks of living in the south). Sure there's all that time off but there were always things to do that were school related, whether it was taking classes while in college or plowing through the summer reading list before that (aah, I miss those summer reading lists). 

So, why not always have that summertime feeling? I know I can't head to an outdoor pool in the middle of winter, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy my time and spend time with friends.

Maybe I am holding onto summertime the same way I am holding onto being carefree and staying young. It's not that I don't want responsibility, it's that I don't want to be boring. I don't want to slip into a state of mediocrity and then become boring. And yes, I know that everyone has to "grow-up at some point" but why does that have to be now? Can't it be after my extended summer break of several years? I think it can be because there's no real reason why it can't be.

Now I'm off to the park so that I can feel the summertime flowing through me.