Summer

I hate summer! There, I said it. 

Feel free to disagree with me; many people do. And while all their reasons for loving the hottest months of the year are valid to them, they are in most cases the same reasons why I loathe it.

I hate the heat. I hate being hot. I hate to sweat. I hate that wall of wet, moist, humidity that hits me in the face like a sucker punch when I leave the comforts of an air conditioned interior and venture outside. I hate mosquitos that buzz in my ear while sweat rolls down my face and I swat frantically at the air. I hate mosquitos bites. What is even the point of mosquitos? I hate when the temperatures rise and it's hard to breathe and it feels like the air is being sucked from my lungs and with it nausea sets in and I feel like I have to vomit but I'm too dehydrated to expel the contents of my stomach. I hate that there is no way to regulate the heat of summer by removing a layer of clothes.

As much as I hate the physical attributes of summer, I also hate the cultural signals associated with the season, like FUN IN THE SUN and BEACH BODIES. Who decided that true happiness meant you had to participate in loud, half naked activities, drinking fruity cocktails, avoiding tan lines? And as far as the idea of having summer off from school, I never liked it as a kid and I don't like it now. As a kid, being home was isolating. When I was little I was rarely allowed outside to play, and when I was in high school, I didn't live near any of my friends. As an adult, my mind and my schedule crave routine which is difficult to control when the world is "off the clock". My version of "fun" is vastly different than most.

Last but certainly not least is the idea of vacation. I've often been asked why I take vacations in the "off season". Simple answer... it's not vacation if I have to share it with a crowd. Vacation to me is time to reflect and reassess so I can come back to my daily life renewed and rejuvenated. That means no crowds, no lines, no noise, no rudeness. The "prices go up in the summer months and I paid good money for this so I come first" mentality is everywhere you go from the line at the ice cream stand to the line at the concierge at a five-star hotel. Why would I pay more to enjoy myself less?

Who decided that summer was the best time to take off anyway? Who decided that being inside with the air conditioning on, meant "wasting a beautiful day"? Speaking of which, who says the only summer days that count are the sunny ones? What's wrong with rainy days of summer, or for that matter, sunny days any other time of the year? 

No. I'm sticking to my guns here. I hate summer and you can't convince me otherwise. Thank God it's followed by Autumn! I could live in a year-long Autumn! I wonder if there is a way to travel the world and capture that one season everywhere you go forever and ever?

Rant over.