My ways of clinging onto summertime with the coming of fall.
I’ve just spent what seemed to be the shortest summer of my life, filling it with classes, sports and social gatherings. Sometimes, it felt as if the summer had never started at all, with the constant pressure to live up to my inner child and have fun.
So, the fall semester is upon us, but is there still time to enjoy the last warm days, or is the summer truly over? Busy university summers full of extra classes and internships leave many students stressed about enjoying the few weeks they get before the fall semester.
Not all hope is lost. I sincerely believe there are still summer days to enjoy and fun to be had. So, here are some of my favorite methods to pretend Montreal’s summer scene doesn’t end in August.
First, I make an effort to dress for the summer. Not necessarily dress for the summer temperatures (don’t get sick!), but instead wearing clothes that make me think of the sun. A nice cool day to bring out a heavy winter coat? Forget about it! A couple layers of hoodies to keep me warm with a pair of shorts to keep me cool will suffice.
Next, I try to spend some time at the Loyola campus even though I don’t have any classes there. Being undisputedly prettier than the SGW campus, there are still a couple of weeks before the trees start to transform. The entire campus becoming red and yellow certainly won’t help the summer immersion, but there’s still greenery to enjoy for now, where I can sit on the grass and pretend it’s early June.
Keeping with the subject of submerging myself in the last few days of summer, I firmly believe that everyone should have a summer playlist. Or at least, a playlist they can associate with summer. Want to listen to what was on the radio two months ago? Or maybe “Down Under” by Men at Work is what reminds you of the hot days? Either way, it’s a crucial addition to our summer-fall lifestyle.
Festivals are also a great way to reconnect with summer. Most communities organize fairs or food festivals in their neighborhoods, with the same goal as ours— celebrating summer’s end. Be it with games or food, it’s always a good way to hang out outdoors and remember the warm months with your friends.
Last but not least, ice cream. As a kid, my parents would always stop buying ice cream after September, and restart in May. This built a strong association between the cold treat and summertime. Now that I’m a responsible adult, getting an ice cream sandwich mid-winter brings a strong association with the warmth of summertime.
Even though we all have our own little things that remind us of vacations and summertime, I believe that exchanging them can give others ideas, or reignite memories. These ideas can be incorporated into daily life to make them just a bit brighter and prove that summer is never really over.
