And allow me to be the first to say good riddance. As far as I’m concerned, you bring me nothing but suffering. Long are the days during the season, the heat cooking everything in sight and any rain just making it worse due to the humidity. With summer behind us, autumn and eventually winter will reach their peaks before we know it. These two seasons have much to offer us in recompense for this past summer’s heat. Although the most obvious of which seems to be late getting the memo this year. The heat still persists to torment us well into the second week of October. As a man who better enjoys the cold, I find this completely unacceptable.
Summer is seen as a time of vacation and revelry, but I’ve always thought it was the worst time to have time off. When the heat seems to drain your spirit and the light blinds you, how can you truly enjoy the things done in summer? Take a cookout for example. I’m sure most know the sight of people standing in front of the grill as others kick back and relax in lawn chairs. It’s a fun time to be sure. Good food, music, friends, and maybe even a pool. Now humor me, if you will, when I say that these activities can be done in much greater effect in Autumn and Winter.
How often have you gone to eat your fresh burger to find flies and other insects buzzing around it? How many times have you had to wipe the sweat from your brow as you tried to simply relax and stretch out? When the days begin to cool, these problems become less and less pronounced as they are in the hotter months. Plus, just imagine the change in scenery for a second. I find it that a good fire is the best source of comfort in the chilly season, so what can a grill become? Not just a place to prepare your food, but a place to become warm. A cozy contrast as the cool winds slide around you. More drink options could be served, the usual cold drinks as well as hot ones. Coffees, teas, hot chocolate and more! Even for the love of swimming, it doesn’t need to be Summer for that. Indoor pools with specially set temperatures exist. There even exists saunas and hot tubs to contrast the cold temperate. Although, I will grant you that something like water parks are more often than not a purely Spring and Summer activity. No season has access to everything of course. It’s just that in Autumn and Winter you have many more options when done right. So not only can usual summer activities be done in Autumn and Winter, I would argue they are better during these times. Before someone says “It’s too cold to enjoy things!”, I would like to point out one thing. Is it not easier to warm up than to cool down? When bombarded by heat you can only remove so many clothes until you can only bake under the sun. When cold you need only add more layers or sources of heat! Bonfires are often a great way to stay warm and enjoy a party.
The colder seasons in and of themselves are also great things to cherish. Everything all starting with the tell tale sign of the leaves beginning to explode into colors before falling. Before long you can smell the crispness on the air, mingled with the spices of the season. Pumpkin spice may get beaten to death, but it’s great in small doses. Halloween comes by with all its sweets, and then Thanksgiving with its feasts. Before long we have the joyous time of Christmas upon us, followed quickly by the wild parties to roll in the new year. What is there not to enjoy or look forward to? There’s something for everyone in these precious months. Now imagine if instead of Summer vacation we had an Autumn or Winter vacation. Those days you can tweak to be perfect to your liking are now much more free for you to enjoy. Able to have a holiday fully up to you.
Everyone will like what they like, but I could never understand people who prefer the heat. When I asked one of my professors about it, Lisa Sharpe, she said that it was the heat that she likes better since it allowed her to exercise outside. I also took one of my fellow classmates aside to ask a few questions pertaining to this topic; Ethan Dixon. We both seem to be on the same wavelength, happy to see summer on the out and ready for what’s to come. Tis’ the season.
