After freshman year of college, it seems like summers are never "just for fun" anymore. Now it is all about working and internships, or "building that resume." Well, here are some things that I know I miss from those carefree summers.
1. Summer Camp
You may have hated it, but I know I loved going to camp during the summer, whether it was a soccer camp or a crafts camp at the YMCA. It was where you could go and just have fun with your camp friends that you wouldn't see at school all year.
2. Popsicles
I always knew it was summer when my mom would pick out those huge bags of sugary colorful goodness from Wal-Mart and bring them home. The whole ride home I would be contemplating in my head if I would try the blue one first like always or try yellow instead (I always ended up eating all the blue first). Now it is not as acceptable for an 18-year-old to get so excited at the sight of popsicles.
3. Pool Days
I feel like, as a kid, the pool was an all day affair, and it was awesome. The chaperone who was taking you and all your friends to the pool would pack lunch and a bunch of snacks and you would stay jumping off the diving board all day long.
4. Catching Fireflies
I love North Carolina in the summer. It may be hot and humid, but at night it is so awesome when those little fireflies (or June bugs for many people) start popping up, and you got to run around the yard chasing the lights until you got too tired and sweaty.
5. Playing Outside
I did not have a lot of kids my age in my neighborhood growing up, however, I remember going over to a friend's house and waiting until it got dark so we could use the whole neighborhood as our personal playground to start playing games like hide-and-seek and cops and robbers.
6. No Summer Classes
Now, in order to fill the requirements for all our majors, we have to take classes during the summer. Remember when once school was out, it was no more holding a pencil until August? I remember forgetting how to write sometimes because I went the whole summer without ever thinking about school.
7. Lemonade Stands
If you never made a lemonade stand, you may have had a failing childhood. The only work I knew as a kid was the lemonade stand, and typically my mom and dad were my only customers. It was okay, though, because I didn't have student loans to pay back then, I did it for the fun of it.
