It’s something we take for granted, but if you think about it, it’s kind of strange — interrupted from our regularly scheduled programming of testing, math of ever-increasing difficulty, and exposure to a hormonal cesspool, we get a three-month break. When you think about it, we have no other season off in its entirety. Whether it’s simply the remnants of a formerly agriculture-based economy or an act of sympathy from lawmakers, we get a good heap of time to binge-watch television, mess up our sleeping schedules, and maybe experience the glories of the service industry. And of course, sooner or later it all has to come to an end.

For different people, the end of summer means different things. Those heavily involved in clubs and sports often eagerly await the chance to get back where they left off, while others may fret over having to come back into contact with people they dislike. However, it’s fair to say that for the vast majority of students, going back to school is a mixture of lukewarm excitement and nausea, with a little bit of denial peppered in for good measure.

Then, of course, there is regret, which if you’re anything like me is as quintessential to the summer break experience as ice cream sandwiches and seeing a plethora of people on Lake Minnetonka. At this point, though, after 11 summer breaks, I guess I’ve kind of learned to expect it. Sure, you spend so much of the school year telling yourself about all the awesome stuff you’re going to do during the summer. But in the end, so much of the adult world, which it seems we are perpetually plunged more and more into, is based on strict scheduling. The ability we have to use summer to unwind and let go of our daily stressors becomes increasingly scarce as you grow up.  The times spent walking aimlessly on the bike path and driving around with my friends in-between cleaning up leaking Icee machines at Target may have been some of the last times I will feel so free of obligations — a last hurrah before the inevitability of adulthood. It’d probably be best to reflect on this some more after school has started-but I’ll probably have too much homework.