Let July just be July

July is always my favorite and most chaotic month of the year. We start off strong with my birthday in the first week, and because everyone I know and love has a July birthday, the rest of the month is spent at various celebrations for the people closest to me.

I spend a lot of time looking forward to July, and every year, without fail, it goes by in the blink of an eye. One day it’s my birthday and the next it’s my best friend Jenna’s, signaling favorite month has already run its course. I reminisced last year on the chaos of August and my changing life at the time. I felt like I was the eye of a hurricane, watching my life blow around me. August quite literally slipped away into a moment in time; I was confused, slightly unhappy, and overall, just kind of a mess. And that’s not to say that I’m not currently a mess. I feel like a part of me always is.

Instead of focusing on the chaos of August, I feel like this year I should reminisce about July and all its simple moments that make it my favorite month of the year. To me, the best parts of July are the calm Sunday afternoons by the pool, the weeknight happy hours, and the days that I have nothing to do so I finish a book in a day. However, partying in Vegas and weekend getaways are also fun ways to pass the time in July.

While July is always very busy, it always contains obligations that I don’t mind fulfilling. I usually have very little real responsibilities, something I am really taking time to enjoy since I know this time next year I’ll be entering “the real world.” I’m enjoying maybe my last July where my only important obligations consist of an occasional dog-sitting gig and showing up at the birthday dinner reservations, because this time next year, I have no clue what my life will look like.

I’m someone who likes a plan. I always know what the next step is, and for the first time in my life, I don’t really know what my next step is after graduation. And while it does give me immense amounts of stress, I’m also trying to enjoy my last year of this simple life.

July goes by so fast that I feel like I’m always missing something. In its last few days, I’m trying to soak up every moment. This year, in general, I’m trying to soak up every moment, because I know, like July does every year, it’s going to fly by.