Summer of '69

“And now the times are changin'
Look at everything that's come and gone
Sometimes when I play that old six-string
Think about you wonder what went wrong

Standin' on your mama's porch
You told me it would last forever
Oh and when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life”

Summer of ’69 – Bryan Adams

Summer is coming to an end. I hate to say it, but it’s the truth. It is the end of February and the rain is starting to pour down even more frequently than before. Most people back at work and weekly public holidays have all finished. Universities will soon start throwing assignments at students, who suddenly have late nights aided by jugs of coffee, mountains of text books and referencing guidelines, instead of jugs of beer, some lazy music and cute flowery dresses. When it all gets a bit much, we will sit back and think, how easy was it all a few months ago during summer, how much breezy was the first year of university, or how much simpler it was back at high school.

I’m all for reminiscing. I think it is important to look back and celebrate all the good times we have had. We have anniversaries in our lives for a reason. There are wedding anniversaries which remember one of the most important days in a couples lives, and Christmas and Easter every year help us to celebrate traditional Christian beliefs. We have family reunions where the old and young sit down and listen to tales about how our great, great grandfathers bought land and started the family farms. Even when a group of friends get together for a dinner, the talk turns to the old days. For me and my friends, it’s always about how school was; whether it was those athletics days where we got a whole day off school, or the scandal at the school after ball, where such and such couple finally hooked up. We sit and laugh about every late night party, or mufti day outfits, or about the long, hot summer days at the beach, or, more accurately, how the rain kept us inside the bach over New Years. Our conversations generally end with: those were the easy days.

But I wouldn’t go back, nor would I like my life to be as easy as a summer day. With work and study comes virtues I could never learn otherwise. I would rather pour over photos from the past once in a while and celebrate everything occasion which is special, but continue to move to the future. For, those were the best days of my life, but right now is the best time of my life.