Summer Lovin’

Lizzy Burke & Tyler Kendall
Features Editors

Movies such as The Notebook and Grease have influenced generations’ thoughts about relationships over summer vacation, showing the romantic and carefree aspects of love outside of school.

However, for many students, summer lovin’ isn’t always as perfect as the movies. “I was gone for most of the summer and my boyfriend was at home, which made it hard for us to be together,” junior Kelly* said. “The break from school was certainly a challenge for us.”

Relationships over the summer can introduce obstacles when dealing with schedules that are not uniform. “During the summer it is hard to date because you do things like family vacations or you might have different work hours,” senior Mia* said. “Sometimes it’s harder to have a relationship over the summer because you have to make the time to see the other person. You have to really work hard to make sure your schedules coincide.”

Junior Nicky* agreed. “It was hard to see each other over vacation because of family trips, sports and other plans,” she said. “We had to manage our time and our priorities.”

Being apart can test a relationship because of the possibility of separation. “We started dating right before school ended, but then he went to camp for eight weeks,” junior Harper* said. “It was hard for both of us, but in the end it probably made our relationship stronger. We wrote letters back and forth to one another, so even though he wasn’t here we still kept in contact.”

The summer months can provide valuable experiences to strengthen ties in a relationship. “I feel like being together over the summer helped challenge our relationship because we had to be apart for so long,” Kelly said. “ Once we saw each other though when I came home it made us both realize how much we mean to each other.”

The break can also be beneficial to relationships as it allows students to spend more time with each other outside of the school environment. “There was a lot more time to hang out,” junior Dave* said. “It was nice not having the pressure of school.”

Summer can be viewed as a time to enjoy someone’s company short term by simply living in the moment. “Summer just flies by, and even though the days and nights feel longer, the weeks just go so quickly,” Mia said. “I think that’s why having a summer fling is really just for people who want a non-committal relationship.”

According to some, it is not so much the time constraints that force summer “flings” rather than relationships, but just the feeling of not having any ties or drama to carry into the school year. “What’s nice about a summer “fling” is that it doesn’t really matter: you can just enjoy it,” sophomore Shannon* said.

*Name has been changed