When does summer end? Everyone has their own opinions due to the difference in schedules, school, and work. While the easy answer, Sept. 23, which is when fall starts, most people do not think of that as the end of their summer. Summer is supposed to be a time to sit back and relax and enjoy time off from school, work and make some money, or go on vacation. For me, school is usually the cut-off date for when I stop doing those things that I would associate with summer. I spent my summer working at my jobs, one of which I quit right before school started back up, as I could not work there during the school year.

While most students would think that the beginning of the school year is the end of their summer, some people think that it ends before or even after then. This could be because of getting ready early or missing the first couple days because of vacation. Though for Christopher Jordan ’21, the answer is easy.  “[Summer ends on] the first day of school,” Jordan said. “Summer is defined as the break between the last day of school and the first.”

Most students would probably agree due to the fact that once school starts back up, many things students associate with summer do not happen after that first week. A lot of people, like Jordan, spent break working and doing things with friends, stuff students might not be able to do often during school. “You’ve just gotta make the best of it,” said Jordan. “Do what you can to enjoy it.” Summer is the time of year for students to relax between the school years, and do stuff you would not normally have the time to do. While most students would probably agree with Jordan, some students begin activities before the first day.

Kyle Goben ’20 spends his summer practicing for Cross Country. “Summer technically ends on the date of fall,” Goben said. “But I think in our situation, it ends when school starts.” Due to cross country starting relatively soon to the beginning of the school year, Goben has to prepare in the summer. “I run in the summer, every morning except Sundays,” Goben said. A lot of athletes like Goben spend their summers preparing for their school time sports. Even though some athletes do this, they still consider it summer like Goben does.

While school starts for students in late August, teachers, like choral director Hannah Ryan, have to begin preparing for the school year earlier. “Summer for me as teacher, end of July because by August my mind is on school, getting ready and prepping,” Ryan said. Unlike the students, teachers have to make sure that the they are ready to welcome the students back and begin teaching. When she was not prepping, Ryan spent time with her family, going to summer camps and going on vacation like a lot of families do during summer. “We went to Marco Island in Florida,” Ryan said. “And then I’m very busy being a mom this summer, two kids, running them around to thousands of different camps.”

Even though a lot of people have different summer experiences, the general consensus was that summer ends for them around mid August, which I completely agree with. It makes sense that returning to school kicks people out of that summer mindset and into the school one. Instead of sleeping in and doing whatever they would want during the day, now students and teachers have to get up early and get ready to spend your day at school. While technically it is still summer through the first month, the feeling is gone.