Summer Bliss
SUMMER BLISS
I used to hate summer. Sand, sweat, skin cancer. Hated it with a passion. For the better part of my life, I was an autumn guy – a fan of the dreary, rainy, wistful, melancholic season. But after my gap year? Let’s just say I’m now the stereotypical summer lover – an island boy through and through.
It took me a while to get there though. Before, summer activities pretty much meant going to the beach and having barbecues – all the while complaining about the heat and everything else. That’s it. Then I started travelling and building a repertoire of skills and hobbies, and so, I reinvented the season for myself. Suddenly, summer would be the thing I look forward to the most and the thing I’d start missing the second it’d start raining.
Summer Days, Finally
You see, every summer, hundreds of thousands of tourists flock to the Maltese archipelago to enjoy everything these islands have to offer. I, on the other hand, would do my best to spend as little time as possible here the second the temperature hit the 30s. When I wouldn’t be at work, I’d usually be found abroad – far, far away from the sweltering heat that engulfed the islands.
Ironically, it was travelling itself that taught me how to make the best of summer. First of all, whenever I was travelling and found myself crossing an arid desert or standing next to molten lava on an active volcano, I never so much as complained about the heat or wished I were elsewhere. Those double standards were somewhat elucidating.
Second, sweating. I used to associate sweating with uncleanliness. Showing up at work or at a social event with armpit stains was akin to showing up naked to me. Especially the way I sweat. I’d probably put any average pig to shame. I was so, so insecure about it. That is, until I started trekking. As many workouts as I used to do, I had never sweated as hard as I did while climbing the Sierra Nevada mountains to get to the Lost City in Colombia. I was practically a walking waterfall – and I couldn’t be bothered. I had bigger worries at the time, like not knowing whether I’d survive the whole ordeal. Then, the more I trekked and the more sports I started to practise, the more sweating became associated with movement, exertion and feeling properly alive.
And sand? Let’s just say I can’t get enough of it now. Having reconnected to the sea during my gap year, Malta’s coast turned into a giant playground where I could have as much fun as I wanted. From snorkelling and diving to kayaking and paddleboarding, I’d try to do it all. With gorgeous cliffs to climb and caves to explore, stunning seascapes and vibrant sealife to admire, I’d feel as if Malta was the best place to be during summer. And let’s face it, it kinda is. Not to mention, all the other stuff I could try my hands on, like free diving and windsurfing, to mention a few.
Then there’s the whole daylight-saving thing. I used to think summer was depressing. You know what’s really depressing? The sun rising at 6AM and setting at 6PM. To me, that means going to work in the dark and arriving home in the dark – on most days. But summer? Waaay longer days. That means more time to enjoy your day – especially if you’re not a night owl.
Sweet Summer
While during my first summer back I was keep busy with my part-time jobs at the private hospital and the dive shop, this would be the first summer I’d get to enjoy.
For the first time, I got to enjoy the perfect work-life balance I had been craving for so many years. In between my regular shifts and the extra ones I had to pick up in order to travel more, I was on the go throughout – an entire summer without a moment’s rest. Come wintertime, I knew I’d have to go back to a routine of studying and having to change my plans constantly cause of the weather, so I figured I’d make the most of my time while I could. And lemme just say, it was a summer I truly cherished from start to finish. And so it went. I got to explore more of Malta’s incredible coast through diving, kayaking and paddleboarding. I continued working out and practising yoga. I got to hang out with my friends and with my colleagues outside of work.
The very same colleagues I had wanted nothing to do with. I still remember saying to myself that I’d keep my relationship with my shift group strictly professional. This time round, I wanted boundaries. It only took a few weeks for me to have a heart-to-heart with my shift lead, who had just broken up with her partner, and with another colleague who had recently started dating this chaotic Italian girl. I guess our friendship was consolidated that one time I got drunk as hell, unable to move on a pavement, with all of them taking care of me. Professional boundaries, clearly.
And I also got around to dating a bit. Ever since Klaus, I hadn’t even thought of dating. And even with him, there was always this kind of disconnect. Like neither of us was really in it for anything more than fun. And that it was. It was such a fun mini-relationship. But looking back, it felt almost too platonic to be considered one. And so, for the first time in years, I felt like I wanted something more. Dare I say, I felt like I wanted to feel love once again. I think it was the fact that I hung out with my shift lead, who kept going on and on about her failed love life, that inspired me to go chase some romance myself.
For the first time in a long time, summer didn’t feel like something to survive. It felt like something to live through. Something to sweat through, swim through, paddle through, dance through, maybe even fall in love through. And somehow, without me realising it, Malta had stopped feeling like a prison and started feeling like paradise.