When I finished my first year, I knew I would, logistically, have to spend the summer back home. I would experience very similar things as I have for years. As I finished the summer of 2022, I knew that next year I would spend the summer of 2023 in Halifax. I wanted something different, and that is exactly what I got. I have been working as a coordinator at a day camp right on the ocean and have met so many amazing people. I’ve gone to a music festival, and have had so many beach days, and overall have been having a wonderful time.
That brings me to the present day. It is the beginning of August and I have spent the entire summer in Halifax. I’ve only ever seen this city in fall and winter. It sometimes seems silly to think that something that changes as frequently as a season could change my perception of not only Halifax itself but also how I perceive myself and others too. I don’t think it is necessarily summer itself that changes my perception, but rather the way summer makes me feel and what it gives me. For example, I can just sit and reflect without the pressures of school taking the majority of my focus. With these reflection times, I’ve discovered a lot about myself. For starters, I am a cold-weather hater. I feel like I was meant to live in warm weather because it sparks a greater sense of positivity and joy into my life.
On a deeper level, with this time in this city, I’ve learned I thoroughly enjoy living far from my hometown. I’ve felt a great deal of guilt about this since moving to Halifax. I have always been scared that my hometown friends feel like I left them behind or that my parents thought I didn’t want to be around them. This could not be further from the truth. In fact, I question my decision to move far away on a regular basis simply because I miss everyone so much. However, I have now spent almost every single season of a whole year, living in a different province, and I realized it is exactly what I needed to do. I needed to build this next part of my life from scratch. I needed to be far enough away so that if I fell, I could figure out how to get back up on my own, and that is exactly what I did. My move wasn’t about leaving everyone behind but more about finding a new part of myself. Now that there is this distance, I feel that in some cases I’ve become so much closer to everyone in my life, and that feeling can’t be beaten.
Living in Halifax this summer has given me the opportunity to not only build stronger connections to my people back home, but also build the relationships I’ve created since moving and meet even more people that I would not have gotten the opportunity to meet had I gone home for the summer. I always tend to see my relationships based on the seasons. I have winter friends, and I have summer friends. It doesn’t always make sense to other people, but the way I see it is people have different vibes depending on the season, and once you see them in every season, you know who they are deep down. That’s how I feel about my friends at home. They are all-year friends and have been for as long as I can remember. This year though, I got to develop more friendships into all-year friendships. This summer, my winter friends got to become my summer friends too. Soon, all my summer friends I have made will become winter friends, and it just builds. As confusing as that may sound, it is something that I, for the first time, have fully understood – and I have this summer to thank for that.
The last piece of knowledge I truly came to understand this summer is that communication is everything. I’m sure everyone has heard this before, but to keep a strong relationship, no matter where everyone is living, everyone must be willing to communicate to keep it going. I talk to my parents at least once a week, usually more. I always make sure I have time to do fun things or simple Facetime calls with all my friends; those friendships have never felt stronger. You have to find what works best for you. It can be something so simple yet so meaningful, and it will ultimately keep whatever relationship you have going for as long as you want it to.
As I close out my summer, I carry all I have learned with me as I start my third year of university. With that, the one thing I always try to remember is that there is peace in knowing you will never miss out on what is meant for you. You are where you are because it is where you’re meant to be.