According to my agenda summer does not officially end until September 22nd. In my personal opinion, summer ended on Sunday morning at 6AM when my alarm woke me up, letting me know it was time to go back to Meredith. I was so excited to be back at the place where I made so many memories and new friendships last year but, that also meant one of the best summers ever was a coming to an end.

I LOVE summer. Other than Christmastime – 127 days till Christmas, y’all – I am the happiest in the summer. Gorgeous (hot, humid, sticky..) NC weather, the beach, sun kissed skin, riding around with the windows down & music up, sleeping too late, staying up too late, no school work. Seriously, can life get any better? So, as I am laying in my new dorm bed, procrastinating on going to renew my parking pass and print out materials for class tomorrow – wait, how am I a sophomore? – I decided to recap on the wonderful summer I had.

First, let me just say how much I love how summer in college starts in May. Having 3.5 months off of school is such a blessing. To start my summer off I had a six weeks of summer school. Because they were online I was able to do all my work in my pajamas with my dog in my lap so it really wasn’t bad at all. During the first six weeks of summer I couldn’t get my mind off of going to the beach for a week. I have always felt like Holden Beach, NC was a second home to me. Our family has been going there since I can remember. It is always so peaceful, not too crowded and the perfect little piece of paradise on the coast of my favorite state. This beach trip was filled with tanning, gorgeous views, rocking in rocking chairs on the back porch, bike rides, daily ice cream trips, fishing, walks, and my favorite – beach boutiques. I think this was the best beach trip our family has had! It was sad when Saturday came and it was over and we had to go back to reality. I am now determined that I will have a purple beach house (because the beach is the only place where it is socially acceptable for me to have a purple house.) one day!

Country music is the best music genre in my opinion. It is pretty much all I listen too. Although driving around with the windows down singing at the top of my lungs and getting stared at when I am at a red light is great, country concerts on summer nights seem to top that. If you know me at all you know that I absolutely LOVE Luke Bryan. I swear I know every word to every one of his songs. When I found out that he would be coming to Raleigh TWICE, TWO times, TWO nights in a row, I was so, so excited. Unlike most people who purchased Mega Tickets, I kept both of my Luke tickets so I could experience my favorite singer two nights in a row. Best. Weekend. Ever. I could listen to him sing all day, completely convinced that he was both singing and shakin’ it only for me. 😉 Saturday night was a blast with my mom and sister, as always. Let me just tell you about how I have the sweetest boyfriend who is not only brave enough to go to LB with me, but with me AND my best friend. So, thanks for staying with me after spending the night listening to me and Alli scream Luke Bryan songs and gossip about what had happened so far in summer, Matthew! Other than Luke, all of the other concerts have been great as well! Dierks Bentley and Keith Urban have been my favorites. Side note – I TOUCHED KEITH URBAN’S HAND and we made eye contact for about 6 seconds, haha. He had a small stage in the lawn and we were next to it. Total fan girl moment. If only it was Luke… Can’t wait for my second favorite singer, Jason Aldean, in September to draw an end to another concert season!

Besides all the exciting things that took place this summer, some of my favorite and most cherished memories were little, simple things. Baseball games with my family, another summer full of teaching my students, planting and watching sunflowers grow with my daddy, sitting on the side of the road watching fireworks on the 4th when our plans to go to Southport were ruined because of Hurricane Author, spending almost every weekend at my grandparents riding around (and breaking down, oops) on dirt roads on the John Deere Gator, crafting and constant laughs with my sister, Porter Farms trips for ice cream and orangeades, my boyfriend trying his hardest to teach me how to shoot a gun and lastly, late-night-life-chats with my best friends. These are memories that I will remember for ever because they took place when life was simple and stress free – Summer 2014. Although it is coming to an end, I am so thankful to be able to experience what I was constantly wishing would be an endless summer.

Now, who is ready for Christmas?! 🙂