Summer

I am still surprised when I see college students going out and about this summer. I often forget that major universities in the Philippines have already implemented academic shift. Classes now start in August and ends in May. This also means that summer breaks which used to be from April to May now fall on the not so summery months of June and July.

As a kid, I would always count the days until summer break. I felt 10 months for a school year was too long. Time also went by too slow. Summer meant I could wake up late, laze around for the whole day, and bury myself in the comfort of my books. I remember devouring shelves and shelves of books. It came to a point my mom would scold me because she had to keep my books in boxes under my bed.

Summer also meant lots of sunshine. We would go to beaches around the Bicol Region. Back then, sunblock was not yet a fad. Instead, we were forced to apply baby oil to protect out skin from the sun. And since I hated applying any form of oil in my body, by the end of summers I would end up so dark than my usual color.

My feelings about summer did not change when I was in college. I still thought 10 months for a school  year was too long. Time still went too slow. Since I studied and lived almost 400 km away from home, I was always excited for the last day of the semester. Summer represented my longest break in a school year and the longest period I could spend with my family.

These days, summer months is just but an ordinary time.  They are not different from my usual days in cold January or in rainy August. I have no long breaks to look forward to because now I am working year round. Twelve months in never year never seem enough and I feel time now moves too fast.

But summer is still means loads of sunshine. And while my perception of time has changed, thankfully that fact remained the same.