“Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.” – Jenny Han
While I did just quote The Summer I Turned Pretty, it’s absolutely true. With being born in April, I was destined to love summer. That following summer was the first time I would visit my grandparents’ shore house in North Wildwood, New Jersey, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. All I’ve ever known is summers at the beach, spending the nights going on rides at Morey’s Piers, and finishing the day with ice cream or Polish water ice. It wasn’t until the summer of 2022 that my grandparents agreed to let me stay down the shore all summer long to work. I got a summer job at one of the restaurants on the pier, and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
I returned to the same job this summer, got even closer with the friends that I made last year, and even made some new friends as well. But something was different this summer. While I hung out with my friends a lot last year, we all hung out way more this year. Whether it was going to the waterpark, hanging out at one of our friend’s houses, or just working the same shift, I saw these people more than I saw my own family. As a matter of fact, they became my family.
That’s what is so special about summer jobs. You spend three months out of the whole year working with these amazing people, some even from different countries. I’ve made friends from Spain, Lithuania, Croatia, Romania, and Malaysia, who taught me so much about their countries and even words and sayings in their languages. While these friendships are something I will cherish for the rest of my life, it makes saying goodbye even harder. Don’t get me wrong, I am so excited to be reunited with my friends from school and get back to city life, but part of me still can’t accept the fact that summer is over and that I won’t see these people until next summer, and in some cases, ever again.
Goodbyes are never easy, but no one ever warns you about a totally different breed of goodbyes that I like to call “Summer job goodbyes.” It’s kind of like the reverse of saying goodbye to your school friends before you leave for summer vacation. When I’m leaving school in May, I only have to say goodbye for three months. When I’m leaving in August, I have to say goodbye for at least nine, maybe 10 months. Saying goodbye for that long, when you just spent every day together for the past three months, is what makes it so hard.
I know that this sadness won’t last forever. This sadness will turn into a feeling of hopefulness for next summer, the reunions that await, and the new memories that will be made. As Belly Conklin once said in The Summer I Turned Pretty, “For me, it was almost like winter didn’t count. Summer was what mattered. My whole life was measured in summers.” I’ll cope with summer being over by continuing to measure my life in summers and by counting down the days until Memorial Day Weekend.