Three Things I Hate About Summer

This post was adapted from something that I had previously written.

It’s time for my least favorite season of the year, summer. I hate warm and sunny. I prefer fallwinterspring where cool and showery are the norm. During the summer, there are three things that really bother me. These things are heat, light, and UV rays.

First of all, I am uncomfortable in heat. I would rather feel cool than warm, and I seem to register temperatures a little differently than most. I get hot really easily, and I am a physical and mental mess when the heat starts to get to me. The heat in the middle of the day is only part of the problem. If temperatures don’t cool off enough at night, I don’t get much sleep.

I would say that I am sensitive to light. I have walked outside around midnight without a light and without tripping, but I struggle in the middle of bright summer days. While this problem exists to an extent year round (ever seen sunlight after snow?), summer is clearly the most blinding season.

If facing the general direction of the sun, I can’t even keep both eyes open. If I’m lucky and have the sun to my back, pretty much any white surface reflects enough light to cause problems. When I’m at my best, I’m squinting with reduced visibility in front of me and very limited peripheral sight. Another symptom of my sensitivity to light comes in the morning. I don’t sleep well when its light. Keeping in mind that I don’t sleep well when I’m warm, I don’t get anywhere near enough sleep during the summer.

Heat and light are not my only problems. I also struggle with UV rays. I burn easily, and I can frequently feel myself burning. You may be able to argue that feeling UV rays is an extension of my heat issues. After all, the burning feeling is primarily a matter of feeling really, really hot. Of course, these UV rays can also cause cancer.

To quote Montgomery Burns from the Simpsons, “Since the beginning of time, man has yearned to destroy the sun. I will do the next best thing: block it out.” Mr. Burns is clearly an evil man. A lot of people point to this quote as proof, but I view this more as a saving grace. While umbrellas were essentially created as portable sun blockers (look up the etymology if you want evidence), they are no replacement for this beautiful vision of a usually corrupt man. If we can’t blow up the sun, I can only look forward to the day when we finally block it out.