a long summer day
reflecting on the kind of summer (and life) I'd like to have. plus, some prompts for reflecting on your own summer to-be.
I didn’t go to summer camps as a kid, and my parents weren’t around too much, but my sister took it upon herself to plan my summers. She’d organize trips to the library’s summer reading program, bring me to the local pool, and take me on bike rides. She dubbed her plans for me “Sunshine Summer Camp”. When she wasn’t around, I’d organize my days into even smaller activities. Read a book. Draw a cartoon. Make a bracelet. Later when I was a teen, they were slightly more ambitious. Sew a dress. Practice French. Learn to juggle.
What makes up “summer” for you? For me, it’s a seemingly endless amount of time for all of you plans. It’s easy to imagine learning new things, starting and finishing projects, and reading any amount of books. It’s also about the freedom of getting to pick what you want to do. Building up your days with mundane and small activities - but of your choice!
This week, I sat down to reflect on the kind of summer I want to have. As an adult, a wife, a mother, a person with too many side projects - is it even possible to have something that resembles a “summer”? When I thought about what a perfect summer looked like for me, I ended up thinking more about how I’d like my life to look.
What would it feel like if I assumed life was long? Not an infinite amount of time, maybe not even enough time, just a long time. The way a summer day might feel. Long enough to go slow, long enough to get bored. Long enough to learn something new and to get into something unexpected.
I’ve been trying to think more about my life being long (vs. short) after reading an interview in the Creative Independent about an artist who was thinking more like this. (I can’t remember it! In case someone else does). It specially resonated with me in the context of my career and practice as a designer. It helped me leave my job as a design manager last year and go back to being a regular designer. If life is long, then I don’t need to show off any credentials any time soon. If life is long, then it’s preferable to take a step back to learn and rest.
So, in my long summer of a life: I have enough time to be a student over and over again. I have the luxury of boredom, while always having a new scheme up my sleeve. I can fill up my days with moments and activities that I choose. TBH, those activities would probably be not so different than the ones my sister and I used to organize for ourselves.
Anyways, I’m riding a summer high right now because it’s the first week of summer and I’m in Germany walking in the woods and swimming in the pristine pools and the sun doesn’t set till 9:40 pm.
Here are the prompts I used to reflect on the summer I’d like to have:
A general go-to for me is to describe something in detail, specially a day. It’s easy to get fluffy about how I want to spend my time (like I did above), but describing it in detail helps me better understand what I actually enjoy and value.
Describe a perfect summer day in detail
Describe a perfect summer day you had as a kid in detail
Describe a perfect summer day you had as an adult in detail
Describe a perfect summer day given a responsibility you have (For me it was a day with my toddler and job)
Questions as I think about life feeling more like a summer day:
How can I spend my time intentionally? What “activities” make up that time?
What does my time look like when I don’t feel rushed?
What does “making” feel like when I don’t feel pressured for a fast turn around?
What am I curious about if I had enough time to really learn it?
PS. Reflecting on my summer was inspired by Annika Hansteen-Izora, their tweet and their workshop (which I did not get to attend but would love to!): https://twitter.com/annikaizora/status/1669345549190074378