Kelly Klintworth, Reporter
Featured Graphic Credit: Kelly Klintworth
Have you ever thought about how summer or the end of the school year could feel different depending on where you are? Growing up in South Africa, summer never felt the way it does in America. Christmas happened in the heat, school years ended differently, and seasons never carried the same emotional weight they seem to here in Connecticut.
After moving to New Canaan, I noticed summer had its own atmosphere: jeeps with the doors off, pink blossoms replacing bare trees, and the strange feeling that everyone was already halfway gone before school even ended.
What stood out to me most after moving to Connecticut was how much atmosphere seemed to surround the beginning of summer. In New Canaan, the final weeks of school feel different in a way that is hard to explain unless you experience it. People start talking about beach trips, camps, and summer plans more than school itself, almost as if everyone mentally leaves before the year is even over but physically stays.
Even small things begin to feel strangely memorable, like driving with the windows down after school, seeing groups of people downtown later at night, or hearing the same songs over and over once the weather gets warmer. Compared to South Africa, where seasons and school schedules felt different and colder, summer here feels much more tied to emotion and change rather than just a break from school.
Part of why summer in America stood out to me so much was because it felt very different from what I had grown up around in South Africa. Back home, summer was connected to both Christmas and the end of the school year, meaning the season never carried the same feeling of endings and transitions that it seems to here, where school ends in the middle of the year. In Connecticut, summer almost feels connected to growing up itself. As the school year ends, friendships shift, and suddenly everyone starts talking about plans for the future.
Perhaps part of that difference comes from the fact that South Africa is on the other side of the world. Summer arrived alongside Christmas, New Year’s celebrations, and the end of the school year, making the season feel more focused on beginnings than endings. After months of school, there was finally time to slow down, celebrate with family, and think about the year ahead.
Rather than feeling caught in the middle of change, summer felt familiar and stable because it was naturally connected to renewal and fresh starts. Here in New Canaan, however, the changing trees, late sunsets, and crowded downtown create an atmosphere that almost feels like a factory reset of who you are becoming.
What makes summer feel so emotional to many students is the way it combines freedom with uncertainty at the exact same time. During the school year, life becomes repetitive and predictable. People see the same classmates every day, follow the same schedules, yet students still somehow manage to not learn where their classes are, and rarely think about how quickly things around them are changing. However, once summer begins, that structure suddenly disappears.
Many relationships return in the fall seeming slightly different than they did before. Even small changes, such as new interests, new routines, or perspectives, begin shaping who people are becoming. That is part of why summer feels so significant in a town like New Canaan. It is not just a break from school, but a period where people quietly change without fully realizing it until everything starts again in the fall.
Looking back on it now, I think moving from South Africa to America changed the way I viewed summer entirely. In South Africa, summer always felt tied to excitement and momentum because the new school year was right around the corner. There was less time spent dwelling on endings because life felt as though it was immediately moving forward into something new. In America, summer feels more out of your control.
That difference made me realize how strongly seasons can affect people emotionally depending on where they grow up. What once felt like a normal break from school now feels much more connected to growing up, change, and the realization that certain moments, people, and even versions of yourself do not always stay the same forever.
