Kiley Wellendorf | News Co-Editor & Blogger

I was covered in a lot of things this summer; sticky from ice cream, mascara-stained from laughing too hard, folded into blankets after a long weekend, pressed up against bodies listening to music – you name it. My summer was indescribable, unrecognizable, and foreign to any other summer I have ever had. My expectations were set at a high standard and although I wasn’t able to live up to the plans I had forecasted for myself, I was able to finally grow in my own hometown. (Man, did I grow up so much). My three months at home completely destroyed the high school perspective I had always laid out before my town. I knew I would miss my friends back at school but I definitely was not ready for the wave of emotions that hit me periodically throughout the summer. My roommate listened to me sob, my friends read every text, and my parents rolled their eyes whenever I complained about how much I wanted to be back. I learned this summer that “normal” is only a phase we execute to ourselves because of our inability to move forward. (Of course, I didn’t realize any of this until my final night of summer). So, take a seat and let me tell you the story of three months that took my breath away completely.

01. Running Back to You – For the Foxes

Two years is a long time to go without seeing someone who used to be a regular visitor in your life; you forget the way they laugh at your stupid jokes, the way their voice changes when they talk about their passions, and the way they look when you know they’re really listening to what you have to say. Standing on your rooftop, city lights twinkling in the background, you somehow gave me the same familiar feeling I used to get when we were just a couple of immature kids in high school. Maybe you’re a safety-net, or maybe you’re here to remind me that the past doesn’t have to remain in the past after all. Whether we were reminiscing on old memories in your kitchen or laughing at new ones at a restaurant – you never failed to make me feel anything less than comfortable. So thank you for pushing me to become what I had always envisioned for myself and thank you for giving me enough guts to keep moving forward no matter what. So, I got one of my best friends back and forgot why we even lost each other in the first place.

02. Shut It Down – Luke Bryan

My summer started the moment I pulled out of the school parking lot blaring “Stay” by Florida Georgia Line, sobbing about how much I would miss my roommate. Taylor and I have kind of a unique situation because unfortunately we were only able to see each other during the first and last week of summer. I went from spending every single night with this girl to staring at her blurry face through an iPhone screen once a week. Our schedules were different, our friends were different, and all of a sudden we weren’t aware of everything that happened in each other’s days. Life was rough, and while the distance was something we couldn’t help, it was something that took time getting used to. When Taylor got the chance to visit, I somehow became more awkward than usual and managed to trip up the stairs while giving her a tour of my house. “Having you at my house makes me nervous, I’m sorry!”

03. The Space Between – Dave Mathews Band

There is something beautiful about the way a group of people can find their way back to each other and form something so much bigger than before. My summer would have been incomplete without the nights I spent at Brittany’s house or the walks Kelsey and I managed to go on. These two were some of my best friends in high school, and we were lucky enough to form an even stronger bond once we left each other’s sides. Getting the chance to see two of my favorite bands (Foster the People and the Goo Goo Dolls) in concert with two of my best friends is something I will never forget. (Seeing Brittany’s face when “Black Balloon” came on or Kelsey’s when “Pumped Up Kicks” came on was pure magic). I’m so thankful for the friendship that was unexpectedly sparked with these two in high school and I can’t even imagine a world without their awkwardness or humor in it. (I love you two and I already miss you both so much, ugh).

04. Bullet Train (feat. Joni Fatora) – Stephen Swart

I left for a “girls vacation” with my mom, a few of my aunts, grandma, and cousin Forrest at the absolute perfect time. (You’d be surprised at how comforting it is knowing you’re hundreds of miles away the moment things start to get bad). Anyways, I was lucky enough to spend a week with my family and then stay an extra few days with my cousin after my mom flew back. We stayed out super late every night, hung out with her friends, and honestly got the chance to get to know each other again. (I mean, the last time we saw each other before this trip was right before we both entered high school for the first time). After the end of the vacation we both agreed that we would be in so much trouble if we were friends in “real life”. I will never forget how much fun we managed to have in the ocean or how we both encouraged each other to do stupid things of which her friends didn’t approve. Florida made me realize that there is so much more out there than I ever expected in this life. It’s all about experience, and I found my sense of serendipity without even looking for it. (How cool is that?)

05. Love like This – Kodaline

This summer I got the chance to go to Lollapalooza for the first time in my entire life. Now, I had always dreamed about Warped Tour back in my black-eye shadow-scream-music-days, but this festival was a whole new experience. Fashion pretty much bled through the streets, your ears rang constantly, and sweating was something everyone grew comfortable with. This festival not only opened my eyes to the beauty of experience, but also allowed me to hang out with people I had never spent time with in high school. (I swear by the end of the trip you would have thought that we grew up together). Never have I ever laughed so hard in my entire life and had so many exciting memories. We covered ourselves in temporary tattoos, missed half of the concerts, took hundreds of pictures and even got our phones stolen. (Sweet, love it, rock on, awesome). Even though we were only in Chicago for the first day, I can’t even begin to describe how insane the time we spent there was. It’s honestly nothing I have ever experienced in my entire life and I can’t wait to go back next year.

Man, what I would do to be able to relive some of the memories I made this past summer.

Graphic by Krystal Schulte