12/09/12 - Early on-set nostalgia

[Warning: this post is entirely self-indulgent.]

So summer is officially over.  The fact that I woke up yesterday to absolutely torrential rain and spent all day in work huddled inside my jumper, cursing the fact that I wasn't wearing waterproof shoes, makes this very clear.  The nights no longer feel summery when you go out, that biting chilly wind is back, and I'm breaking out my collection of scarves whenever I leave the house.  The other thing that spells the end of summer is the mass migration of all my friends back to their respective places of education - from Wales to Hertfordshire, we're all jetting back.

It feels like the past few months have absolutely flown by!  Between my job, catching up with friends, jaunting down to London, a lovely family holiday, wasting an awful lot of time on the Internet, having some brilliant and very unique experiences and other things that I can't even put my finger on, it's been a very hectic summer.  And a surprisingly enjoyable one.  At the end of last term, I was going through some pretty heavy personal stuff which I was worried would put a dampener on my whole summer  - you know how it is; everything just seems to happen at once and it's easy to let it all get on top of you.  But with the help of my wonderful friends and particularly the music of the Script, I've actually managed to have a pretty good time of it.

But now it's back to the grind.  Back to worrying about money and making sure my laundry's done and camping out in the library around essay deadlines.  Third year.  Things are getting serious and scary.  This is my last chance to make a mark at university before having to move into the (eek!) real world.  But it's also back to my own space and freedom, some of my favourite people in the world and no one raising an eyebrow when I refer to returning home at half past midnight as "not too late".  There are pros and cons to every situation.  The main con of going back is that I'm going to miss everyone from home so much.  I'm really hoping to be able to visit more people at university this year, as I've only experienced two other places in the past two years.  Nowhere near enough.  But what is really hitting me now as we all prepare to return - in fact, some people will have already gone by the time I post this - is that this is our last 'normal' summer.  After this, who knows what we'll be doing?  Everyone has different ambitions and different plans, which is exciting and terrifying in equal measures.

And let's not forget my beautiful family.  I moan about them a lot, but they are honestly much more to me than free food, a taxi service and a bank.  Of all the people I miss when I'm at uni, my family are the ones I miss the most.  I won't get too soppy here, but I didn't want them to think they'd been over-looked.  Let's just say, I may be a little teary when my mum drives away on Sunday, leaving me to sort out my room and crack on with my dissertation.

But this post is dedicated to appreciating the brilliant times I've had, not getting myself all stressed out about the future.  So I'll leave you with some ahem, 'stunning' photos of my summer. 

I hope you've all had a brilliant summer and made some beautiful memories that will keep you going through the cold winter months.  Leave your favourite part of summer 2012 in the comments below - I'd love to hear about how you've spent your time!