Soon enough you will be waking up in the morning for a 9:00 to 5:00 job with taxes to pay, student debt, and possibly children on the way. No more summers off and carefree trips to get ice cream at random hours. You will no longer spend those paychecks on fun things to do; rather, you'll be spending them on necessities while learning about responsibilities.

Now is the time to explore life and figure out who you are. Swim at 11:00 at night, jump into those rivers with water that sends chills down your spine, or sit around a campfire and talk to friends. Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and hang out with people you never have hung out with before. Do what makes you happy. Don't spend every day roasting under fluorescent light bulbs, wishing you were doing something else. Do what you enjoy. Make enough money to fill your gas tank and buy drinks and snacks at different general stores along your path. When you look back on the days of your youth and all the memories you made, do you want to remember all the things you were wishing you were doing, or all the days you seized and the opportunities you took advantage of?

Summer is about freedom. Free yourself from the burdens of societal norms. Turn that music up and put the windows down. Sing at the top of your lungs to every song you know. Let the sun help you to grow as it does for the plants and trees. Dance in the rain and let it soak your roots, helping you stand tall. Know that your summer was a shooting star, a beautiful blaze that, although only lasting moments, allowed you to believe wishes could come true. When September comes around, it burns out as quickly as it came. However, in the halls, you can see the faces of all the people you made memories with. You'll remember all the days you spent laughing alongside the people you met on your journeys.

Think of your summer as an adventure, a way to fill your soul until the next adventure you hurl yourself into. Be thankful for the moments of air under your wings, no matter how long it may have lasted. When the sun begins setting earlier and the earth grows cold, you will be grateful for the sun that guided you at 9:00 p.m. on a hot summer night, running because the pavement was burning your feet.

Let your soul shine, refreshed with the fleeting moments of racing hearts, free falls, sticky sand-covered skin, and fresh air that filled your lungs. These days are footprints in the sand, later washed away by the tide of time. Let your toes sink in and leave your marks while you can.