By Ava Geaniotis

I’ve always had mixed feelings about summer. I love the sun, I love being able to sleep late and I love reuniting with friends and family now that we have free time. Still, I always miss the consistent routine of the school year, and I find myself wishing summer away before it’s even close to over. Then, when we’re a week away from classes resuming, I look back on summer fondly and wish for more time.

This summer is no exception–in fact, I probably feel this the strongest this year, as I had an extremely fruitful summer. I had the incredible opportunity to do some public relations work–particularly award submissions for various financial services. As someone interested in going into public relations, I learned so much about conducting research, time management and public relations language (and finance terminology) that will serve me well in my future career.

I also spent a significant amount of my summer crafting, whether that was painting with acrylics, doing nail art or trying oils for the first time. I also spent a lot of time at my cousin’s store–Kate’s Vintage Rose in Stony Brook Village–where we painted, sewed and bedazzled Americana jackets (mine was inspired deeply by Lana Del Rey and the movie “Cars”), and where she conducted various other craft nights (where we sewed and decorated adorable, whimsical bunnies and pumpkins).

Crafting pumpkins!

Later in the summer, I went upstate with my family, as I have every summer since I was a baby. There, I touched grass–or, more eloquently, reconnected with nature. I loved being surrounded by trees and watching the sun shine through the branches and leaves, but my favorite part was seeing deer wander nearby multiple times every day. Though, as much as I love traveling up there, the prevalence of bugs always makes me ready to return home at the end of my trip–but still excited to go upstate again next year!

A creek flowing in the forest, upstate New York

Now that summer’s over, I’m genuinely excited to go back to school (a sentiment that never fails to surprise and/or repel everyone else I know). I just truly love learning! I also love fall and Halloween and its resulting spooky season, so it’s safe to say that I have a lot to look forward to. 

Though, if summer wanted to stay a little longer, I would embrace it wholeheartedly. This summer definitely taught me to live every moment to its fullest, and I’m already working on my bucket list for next time.

I’ve also come to the realization that summer is a mindset–one of joy, laughter and light. I feel like so much of the world revolves around the stretch of season where the sun is out almost every day, and I’ve observed that people are overall happier during that time (which makes sense–less work, better weather. I understand the appeal!). Still, I wish people could feel as sunny as they do in summer throughout the rest of the year.

So, with an iced coffee in my hand no matter the weather and an upbeat 2010s summer playlist singing to me through my headphones, I’ve decided that this year, even though summer is technically over, I can carry its uplifting, optimistic mindset with me every day, even during fall, winter and spring–until summer visits us again.