Summer: A magical time of year

Summertime is when all health crazes get together, conspire and make us all question our entire life’s choices with the bite of a single block of chocolate.

In the United States, the “bikini body” is the culmination of brain activity of people my age. However, in Bahrain, the exhausting heat remains a constant source of annoyance.

I make it seem like summer is terrible. Like all the season has to offer are people who judge others based upon the current beauty norms or the heat and humidity melting the very beings we are.

No. Summer is not just about being uncomfortable. Summer is the moment when ice-cold water splashes against the back of your throat after the dull headache caused by the incessant heat has set in, and you miraculously feel energised and calm.

Summer is the coming together of families, whether it be for elaborate trips or simply a meal shared with loved ones.

Maybe summertime requires reflection, maybe we should think about all of our privileges before we complain.

In the United States, I live next to a lake that has been drained halfway due to construction on the lake’s dam. Most lake residents despise the fact that their once expensive waterfront properties have greatly dwindled in value and the resale value has been put on a 20 percent drop for the next few years.

Most people, if they have any water at all in front of their homes, don’t have lake access anymore.

Many who once visited the lake to waterski or wake surf now visit other lakes because the ride is quite short-lived on this lake.

Myself, I don’t mind at all.

Since the lake has dropped, we have been able to rent our waterfront house for a fraction of the cost of an apartment in the city center. We are fortunate enough to still have lake access and since nobody wants to ride their boats around on our lake, we have it mostly to ourselves.

Maybe summertime requires reflection, maybe we should think about all of our privileges before we complain.

 

Picture1

 

Bianca Marais is an international student from South Africa. She is studying journalism and creative writing in the United States of America.

Comments