Summertime, But Is the Livin' Easy?

Since the semester is coming to an end, I’d like to discuss the rhetoric behind the time we all look forward to: summer break. I think for a lot of people, the school year has four phases: 1. Happy to be back with friends and activities/work to do instead of boredom; 2. Contentment, after the initial “honeymoon phase” with school; 3. Misery where the work is just not fun anymore, some friend drama could creep in, or things are overwhelming; 4. Anticipation of summer.

Then I started thinking, how great is summer? After all, look at phase one where people actually WANT to come back to school because of the friends, entertainment, occupation, and challenges. I have a feeling “summer break” is just a time we have been taught to idolize. TV shows, other kids, parents, and even magazines have tried to show us that summer is good because there is no school. TV shows often show kids wanting to get out of school and having more fun in the summer. Other kids talk about how much free time they will have in the summer. Parents say they can’t wait for summer because it means they do not have to wake up early for their kids. Magazines show us summer clothes and accessories, models playing beach volleyball, and gorgeous weather. I’m not saying that these are bad things, but I don’t think they are totally true.

Sure, some people have natural preferences for summer, but there are parts of summer that can annoy us just as much as homework stresses us out. One major aspect I can think of is humidity. Once we experience that, we wish for winter or fall again.

I think the glorification of summer comes from the fact that we associate it with stress-free time. However, does summer even exist in that sense after a certain time, or ever? For adults who work full-time, the work does not end, and their “vacation” is dictated by their vacation days. For kids, life can certainly get easier, but many have assignments they need to complete for the beginning of school in the fall. Others go to camps where they need to wake up early anyway, and those can be similar to school depending on their structure.

So, what makes it so great? What we associate it with through learned habits and past associations. If I am right about that, or am on-track with another idea that might not have hit me yet, I would say it is time to change how we perceive work and school!