Thursday, June 17, 2010

Why I Love Summer

School is over! Whoot! Summer here I come, and I decided to do a post about why I love it as much as I do. Not just for the writing related reasons there are other factors too. Here is my list:

*All-nighters. Seriously once school is over and done with I don’t have to be up at six a.m. every day, thus I can hop myself up on chocolate and coffee and chamomile tea and not have to worry (8o% of the time) about being completely mentally present in the morning, or afternoon whenever I get up. Lots of writing gets done during the wee hours of the night-ah summer is amazing.

*Boys. Let’s not be shy right here: I’m a teen girl, and during the summer lots and lots of boys walk around topless. I spend weekends down at a beautiful beach shore with my grandmother, and there are lots of topless, tan, sailor boys. It is very, very nice to sit around and watch. Or play a boys vs. girls game (it’s to see who can get all members of the opposite gender into the water first) on the raft with them, in the middle of the ocean. Think about it.

*No school work. Frankly spending my time wrapped up in lots and lots of school work is not how I like to spend my days especially because I just bombed two finals (no effect on my final grade, but just panic attack induced amnesia. Yes I’m serious, and yes I did cry about it. It wasn’t pretty). So though I have to find a job, (I’m working on it, no car+small town=limited opportunities. It’s going to happen though,) I still don’t have to write ten page papers or perform a French oral exam on a whim.

*I don’t have to deal with obnoxious teenagers for elongated periods of time. Of course this sounds really pretentious, I know; especially because I am a teen and my target readers are teenagers—but I am more mature than most of my classmates. Sometimes it seems like eons ahead of them maturity wise. So I do not appreciate sitting in a class where kids are going off about what stupid things they did last night, or what pictures got posted on the web. Not for me, I’d rather have a political conversation with an adult, or discuss and recite Shakespeare, yes I am that much of a nerd, if there was any speculation about that let’s dispel it right now. For example I can recite the Tomorrow [Macbeth] speech off the top of my head. Thus spending A LOT of time with some of my peers is less than enjoyable. Don’t get me wrong gossip is great but there are just some things about my classmates that drive me nuts.

*Summer flings— if I’m the one having the summer fling (haha, not happening) or if one of my friends is or one of the classmates mentioned above, they are always fun to hear about. The ups the downs, the chemistry. I’m a hopeless romantic at heart so stories that are chock full of passion are enthralling, whoever you are. So yes I appreciate the intoxicating environment that is summer, and the passionate flings it nurtures. It is fun to watch.

*People watching. I love people watching and summer is one of the best environments for it because you can loiter basically wherever—bookstores, beach, museum, stores, cafés, you name it in summer it’s less noticeable if you’re hanging around there. Of course this can be disputed— but I believe that the hustle and bustle of a hot steamy summer with everyone coming and going is a better web of distractions than any other time of the year especially the slow cool flow of winter. People stick in one place for a long time and therefore notice if you’re sticking around and watching them. Thus summer is an ideal environment to watch people all the time, because it seems like everyone is going somewhere else.

*Boys, did I mention boys? If not they need more recognition. Hot, tan, toned, shirtless, swimmers, sailors, bikers, off-season hockey players (<-they’re my favorite, hehe). Boys.

*Reading. I have so much more time to read, no papers, no assignments, and like stated above all-nighters. Do you know how many books I can read straight through in twenty-four beautiful hours? Over five it is SO nice.

*Time to go to my gym. I have a membership and during the school year don’t get there enough as I’d like to, but during the summer if I want I can bike there(nice exercise) and then enjoy a work out and bike home(more exercise) I could even get there twice a day if I’d like. Hey a non-sports player has to keep healthy somehow.

*The beach, this should speak for itself.

*I can lock myself down in my internet-less basement and stay there for hours undistracted by all the shiny blogs, tools and games on the internet. And just write.

*Summer softball. My baby sister, Shorty, plays summer ball. And three years ago we had the BEST team; I loved all the girls and couldn’t wait to go to their games. We traveled all over the state (in car reading time bangin’). We got all the way to finals, three inning overtime and lost by one. It was painful. But it was awesome, so amazing. The next year because of the age divisions our team was spilt up but this year, with the exception of a few new additions the team is basically the same and I am PUMPED. We already won our first game 4-0. I love, love, love watching my baby sister play, love watching the joy it brings her. Especially because I’m friends with a bunch of the girls and it’s like magic. Softball may be my second favorite sport, the first being hockey (see above second boy comment).

*Being a beta. I love getting to help people and during the year its hard and I can’t always be timely, but over the summer, I can beta till my heats content.

*Sleep. When I’m not reading or writing or working. Sleep, lots and lots of beautiful sleep.

*Marathons, lots and lots of TV marathons, catching up on everything I missed. Leverage, I love you.

*Friends probably one of the best things ever, the biggest perk of summer. Spending time with and appreciating the people who you love like family and who always have your back. I love my friends.

And that is why I love summer. Especially for the boys, hehe.

13 comments:

Weronika Janczuk said...

*smile*

Happy Summer! You have so many plans - wow, wow, wow. I go to orientation (back to the city!) this weekend and that's it.

Have fun. I look forward to reading about all it is you end up doing.

Hayley Lovell said...

Weronika- You're coming back this weekend? I hope you have a great time! And I don't have that many plans just lots of things I love and want to try to accomplish. I'll keep you posted on what goes on this summer, no worries.

Portia said...

Hey, you make summer sound fun! What's on your reading list? The best part about people watching (and boy watching) is that you can combine it with other activities, like swimming and reading.

I hope it's the best one yet!

K. M. Walton said...

Sounds like you have quite the summer o'fun ahead of you!

I would LOVE to have you beta for me. I can't remember if I emailed you yet...I'm off to do that right now.

storyqueen said...

Haley, you have such a great writing voice...just reading your blog I feel like I'm reading a fun YA book....I can't wait to see how your novels turn out.

Shelley

Hayley Lovell said...

Portia- I'll do a whole post on the books I'm going to read because there are a lot of them. And I hope its a good summer too!

K.M.- Got your email, saved your draft and can't wait to start betaing for you!

Shelly- Thank you!

lisa and laura said...

Best. Summer. Ever. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm totally jealous! Enjoy, Hayley!

Unknown said...

Yay! I love summer too! Writing all night, awesome weather, no school, and BOYS. Does it get better?

Gina said...

Love summer too! And this list of summer loves is so amazing! I love your blog, by the way :)

xo, gina

imaginable21.blogspot.com

Gina said...

Hi! I just wanted to let you know I nominated you for a blog award. You can see it on my blog :)

xo, gina

imaginable21.blogspot.com

Angela A said...

Hey there! Just found your blog and I heart it tons because I love finding other teenage writers! Yay!

Hayley said...

Hi Hayley.
Thanks for visiting my blog. Wow, we both share the same name and love writing!
I loved this post, you're a great writer. And you are right there's so much to love about summer! We are in our winter here and I miss the warmth so much!

Hayley Lovell said...

Lila- Don't be too jealous, with the fun comes the drama. But you can live vicariously (and drama free) through me whenever you'd like!

Kat- If kitkat bars were always free and I had an unlimited supply then yes, yes it would get better. But because that is never going to happen, no I don't think it can.

Gina- I'm glad you love my blog and I love yours, it's always good to hear from a fellow teen! And thank you oodles for the award!

Angela- Great to hear from another teen writer, we've got to stick together!

Hayley- We do have a lot in common, it's good to hear from you, sorry it's so cold where you are but it'll warm up soon enough. I am still surprised that we've got the same name, spelt the same, and we're writers. It is small world. Thank you for stopping by!