Summer has officially started and I must say, it's one of the most stressful yet. As college students, summer is filled with work, internships, potential online classes, and time for friends and family.
Of course in the midst of all this, there is plenty of fun-having, but it's nothing like the summers during our elementary and middle school years. Those summers consisted of days of bingeing Netflix, going to the pool with friends, and plenty of other activities.
There are a few things, however, that I wish we could go back to doing just for a day.
1. Pretending to be mermaids at the pool.
Watching "H2O" as a kid had me and my friends convinced we were mermaids. Did we look ridiculous to other people at the pool? Probably.
2. Making matching puff-paint shirts with your BFF just because you could.
The amount of puff-paint shirts I have in my possession is scary. My best friends and I would find the most ridiculous reason to make shirts with that awful smelly puffy paint. In fact, one of my best friends and I made a puff-paint shirt for the midnight release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" DVDs.
3. Sitting in the leather chair of your friend's basement and playing various games on the computer.
How you and your friends felt sitting in that chair.
We all know what chair this is. Whether you were watching "Annoying Orange," playing Webkinz, or dangerously hanging on Omegle, there were countless memories made in that chair.
4. Blasting “Replay” by Iyaz or “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz while sitting outside with friends.
I don't know what it is about these songs, but I feel as if they define our middle school years.
5. Spending your days making music videos on the app “VideoStar."
What we thought we looked like while making these music videos.
As someone who was interested in video production, this app was my life. There are too many cringe-worthy videos to count that I have from the summertime. Using those effects made it feel as if we were big-time Hollywood directors.
6. Having deep, meaningful conversations on the magical green box.
The low hum of the electrical box still haunts my memories. The kids in my neighborhood always had a myth that it would blow up if the wrong person sat on it. It was like we created our own little cult-club with it.
7. Participating in summer reading challenges.
My personal favorite books to read.
Every library across America had these. The best feeling was flexing on all of the other kids in line checking in their reading hours when you walked away with the prizes for reading that week.
8. Taking your Flat Stanley everywhere and insisting you take a picture with him for said reading challenge.
Flat Stanley was always a request when going somewhere. Come the next school year, everyone showed off where their Flat Stanley went. There were always those show-off kids who took him to Paris.
9. Playing kickball, manhunt, and any other outdoor game with the other kids in your neighborhood.
Best question to be asked.
These games were the highlight of summer evenings. When you heard that knock on the door after or before dinner, you knew what was about to go down outside. Nothing makes your other neighbors more happy than obnoxiously screaming about whether someone's kickball kick was a foul or not!
10. Taking random trips to the zoo, park, or any other fun place for FREE.
Now that we're all older, we have to actually pay for these fun experiences. It also now allows us to appreciate our parents even more for spending the money on us for our happiness. I just wish I could still pass as a 12-year-old so I could get into the zoo for free.
All of these summer fun activities defined our childhood. I hope one day, the future kids in our world can experience the same things.
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