I am a teenage girl who strongly dislikes summer.
Yes, you read that correctly. That is a statement that is rare in today's society. Currently, it's that time of year where everybody is craving the feeling of sunshine on their faces and sand in between their toes. As I have been scrolling through my social media feeds over the past few months, I have seen hundreds of posts from my female peers with captions such as, "Missing warmer weather" or "Can't wait for summer!"
And then there's me. A person who is dreading the weather that is about to come.
There are many reasons why I dislike summer. I blame most of this hostility on genetics. My pasty, Irish skin has cursed me into thinking that the sun is my mortal enemy. In fact, I'm pretty much sure it is. I burn so easily that I basically spend most of the summer as red as a lobster. I am in a constant state of pain and discomfort whenever I am sunburned, which leads to me spending most of my summer in that state of pain and discomfort. Therefore, it's hard for someone like me to enjoy many summer activities.
When you're someone of my skin tone, you cannot step outside for 5 minutes in the summer without having a thick layer of SPF 50+ sunscreen all over your entire body. I think it's safe to say that I have spent over a hundred dollars on sunscreen within my life time. I have to dedicate a good 5 minutes out of my morning routine towards covering every square inch of my body with that stuff. Frankly, it's kind of annoying. However, enduring a few irritating minutes of sunscreen application is way better than dealing with a couple of days of stinging pain whenever something touches my skin.
Every summer, I am constantly surrounded by strangers, friends, and even some relatives who have beautiful, tan skin. And then there's my skin, which is either white as a ghost or red as a tomato. I am extremely jealous of people who have the ability to tan. I was not blessed with skin that can hold any pigment other than pale white or shades of red. Some people ask me, "doesn't your skin tan after you get a sunburn?" Unfortunately, the answer is no. For some reason, the only tan I have ever been able to hold throughout my entire life is slight sock tan lines from when I played tennis in the spring. And even though my skin is ever-so slightly darker than normal during this time, you wouldn't be able to tell unless I was barefoot. Otherwise, I still looked like a ghost in comparison to my peers. It's just not fair.
It's not just my pale skin that has led me to dislike summer. I honestly can say that I am not a fan of hot weather in general. Whenever it's hot outside, everyone gets all sweaty and starts to smell really bad. Not to mention, there's only so much you can do to cool down in the summer. If you don't have air conditioning, a swimming pool, or access to a body of water, you're either forced to use a fan to circle hot air around the room or take off as much of your clothing as possible. I, personally, think that this is a state of torture. I would much rather be freezing cold while covered in a million blankets than sitting in next-to-no clothing bathing in my own sweat.
I totally understand why people love summer so much. There's nothing better than having a break from school and partaking in fun activities that are unique to warmer weather. However, in my opinion, summer isn't all that it's brought out to be. Maybe it's because my heritage gives me a little bit of bias. Maybe it's because of jealousy. Maybe it's simply a personal preference. Whatever the reason is, you know I will be spending most of my summer inside of a nice, air conditioned room while covered in sunscreen (just in case).
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