Take Me Back to Paradise

With the temperature above 90s degrees and the school year concluding in less than 5 days, the summertime is rapidly approaching us. For those living here in the south, this means a time of great heat, humidity, and mosquitos.  Hopefully, my summer outlook will take me over the southeast as my friends and I embark  (hopefully) on trips to the beach, Nashville, and the 7 weeks I will be spending in Winston-Salem for my job this summer. I love summer if not for the weather then for the freedom it affords who can take part in it.

Growing up, summertime meant days spent at the local pool, late nights in the neighborhood playing freeze tag, and the sweet aroma of charcoal grills. This summer, I'm very much looking forward to looking back, as I return to the exact same place where I spent my summer 5 years ago at Governor's School in beautiful Old Salem. The food, sights, and history always have a way of welcoming me back each time I visit. The long hot nights and the youthful and academic atmosphere help rekindle the past as well as spark interest in the future. 

But for now, I must embrace my last undergrad collegiate studies and the heat swell of the spring.

Springtime for Hitler...nah, just kidding

No, I don't liken the beauty of spring to Hitler's Third Reich, but there is one comparison in viewing both: both are overwhelming. Plus, it's a great references to one of my favorite films, "The Producers."

Spring can mean so many things to people. For some, it's a chance to shed the dark drab atmosphere of winter and to embrace the sun and beauty of the landscapes. Some liken spring to something known as "spring fever" in which the quest for love and companionship intensifies just like the pollen count on the hood of your car.

But, perhaps the most famous coinage of springtime verbiage is "spring cleaning." This is a chance to shed ourselves of the personal and material things which clog and bear down on our very existence. From stacks of old magazines to those smelly shoes you have been reluctant to throw in the trash, spring offers a wonderful opportunity to rexamine our lives to see where our clutter and trash is.

Even as we begin to clear the clutter and the brush, everything we pick up and discard must be remembered as having played a part in our lives, good or bad. Because, for everything there is a purpose: