Ice- cream, late-nights, swimming, sunsets, lake days, beaches, cocktails, bad decisions, tanning, vacations, and freedom. Nothing beats summer. But you need to know how to end your summer right before the regular routine of work, school, and busy schedules overwhelm you.

Summer, for most people, is the beginning of relaxation and excitement. In America, many college students have the privilege of summer days allowing for extended rest and fun. Because of this extended holiday, it permits friendships and bonds to be strengthened over the summer. However, when summer comes to an end there is a sense of sadness and separation because the reality of this protracted holiday was never meant to go on forever. That is, this ending involves you leaving your friends and heading back into normal life which can be fun yet stressful.

For me personally, this is my last summer to experience a college summer kind of joy and I want to end this right! So, I created a list of things that made my summer enjoyable and a list that made it not so enjoyable. I did this because I wanted to look at my summer and recognize what was missing and what needed attention before I go back to school.

Starting with the positive aspects of my summer: traveling to different states, connecting with my sister, being with my family, swimming, exercise, and working on myself. These positive experiences built an adventurous, daring, fun, and loving summer. However, just as everything seems to be going right there is always a hiccup. All of these summer highs made it really hard to think of what was missing but the lows made me want more for my ending. Some of the negative parts of my summer were: stress with money, relationships failing, heartbreaks and loneliness. But without these lows, the highs would not have existed or felt as good. In other words, happiness is not attainable without exploring sadness. Finally, my list of to-dos before the end of summer includes skydiving, strengthening relationships, saying yes more, spontaneous weekend trips, and living in the present. These goals may seem like a stretch, but as I said, it's my last one to go all out and so can you.

One way to fully experience the end of summer is to live in the present. I know this is easier said than done. I tend to look forward and plan everything for the school year but that takes away from the moment I am in and hinders my ability to fully cherish each memory I make. My advice is, focus on the present this summer because the future is not guaranteed. How do you plan to end your summer?

Don't forget what made your summer enjoyable and concentrate on leaving summer 2019 with a bang. "No one looks back on their life and remembers the nights that they got plenty of sleep."-Anonymous. So, take a risk, step out, stay up late, and make the most of the last bit of summer.