Here's to the last summer before things get real

As I write this column, I'm counting down the days until Summer Break. Probably by the start of finals week, I'll be able to give you a to-the-hour update on how much time stands between me and pure freedom. After all, that's what summer has always stood for in my mind. I enjoy seeing Richmond's change of seasons, campus life, and always having my friends nearby, but for me, summer's where it's at. Remember that feeling of pure bliss that came from being a kid, of knowing that you had three whole months without homework ahead of you, filled with utter possibility to play outside, to ride bikes, to stay up late and to have adventures?

To an extent, that carefree feeling of summer has changed a little bit for us now that we're in college. Summers now have more structure, more responsibilities, more obligations. There are summer jobs and internships. There are summer classes to be taken, research to be done, requirements to be fulfilled. Life isn't as simple as gathering up all your friends from down the street to spend time together anymore.

Change is a good thing, and it is an unavoidable part of life. It's essential to prepare for the future, and I'm confident that we're all very grateful for the job and internship opportunities we've been given; however, the other day as I was anxiously anticipating the precise number of milliseconds separating me from the beach steps from my house, I came to the realization that so many of us are facing: This is going to be my last true summer.

Yes, I'll be relocating to an exciting new city for an internship, but I'll still have some free time on my hands, and for the month of May, I'll be back at my old Virginia Beach stomping grounds. But after this one, after this summer, it all changes. With any luck, I'll have a steady job, but I won't have the luxury of a summer off anymore.

This summer, I'm going to make the most of my favorite season, and I urge you all to do the same.

Make this summer truly great. Go to new places, meet new people, have new experiences. Don't forget your old favorites, though. Spend time on the water. Spend time in the water. Sleep under the stars. Dream, preferably in hammocks. Think and read and eat popsicles until you're sick. Try and recapture that simpler time when the biggest thrills came from hot days with friends, chasing down the ice cream truck and holding a jar full of fireflies. Do what makes you happy. As Third Eye Blind professes, "I believe in the sand between my toes." Summer and sand are definitely a part of my roots, and it's time to reconnect before everything changes.

Summer is a feeling, a state of mind. Treasure these last summers as college students, because you truly do only live once, guys. Happy summer!