I hope by the time this column gets into print, this seemingly endless heat wave we've been suffering through will be long gone.
It was tortuous wasn't it? Especially for upstate New York residents such as ourselves, to whom truly warm weather usually comes around less frequently than Halley's Comet. Our bodies just aren't prepared for that type of heat and humidity, as say, a resident of Southern Florida would be. We, who keep preparing for those freak snowstorms late into the spring, are simply too under-prepared when it comes to keeping ourselves cool in those few, but scorching summer days.
But never fear! I have been known to always pack an average of 12 different outfits, even for a day trip, which I believe qualifies me for the title of Champion of Preparedness (or at the very least, Your Royal Chronic Over-packer), and I have prepared several helpful tips for you to get you through the dog days of summer.
Step 1: Locate and Utilize a Body of Water
This is your first step before you can begin the best thing about summer _ swimming. If you're lucky enough to have a pool, utilize it please.
And then invite me over.
It is one of the worst injustices to have a pool but not use it for its sole purpose on a hot summer day.
If you do not have your own pool, head immediately to the nearest town's pool or lake. However, if the closest body of water around is your bathtub, and you're too lazy or too frugal to spend your gas money driving to the lake, progress to...
Step 2: Befriend people with a pool
Proceed with caution. You do not want to lead these people to believe that the only reason you are interested in them is for their pool.
Try to immerse yourself in their interests and hobbies.
If that doesn't work, tell them the truth.
I'm sure they'll take a minute to appreciate your honesty before they slam the door in your face.
Step 3: Get desperate/creative
So you're all out of ideas now, and you've lost a few friends in the quest to find a little H20. Don't give up hope!
Because the key to summer heat relief actually resides in your very household. Turn on the sprinkler and run around, or have an impromptu water balloon fight. Just don't hurt anybody. And if you do, don't mention my name. I'm a poor college kid now, I can't afford any lawsuits.
Believe me, I've tried everything possible to beat the heat these past summers in town. It's not easy.
That's why I try to make as many summer traditions as I can focus around keeping cool. I know which friends I can call to run around in a sprinkler with despite how childish it may seem. (18-year-olds need to cool down, too.) I make it a priority to get my butt to the lake with a few friends after a grueling, sweaty dance class -- even if the water is freezing and they always make me go in first to check for some genetically impossible aquatic life. And every summer, my best friend and I have a tradition to use a Slip-n-Slide at least once before school starts. If you don't have a Slip-n-Slide, just manufacture one out of a tarp and a hose.
Beating the summer heat is easy if you're not afraid to get a little creative and abandon all of your dignity. If you happen to see some older kids running around under a sprinkler shrieking with delight this summer, one of them is probably me.
But I would think twice about stopping to laugh at us -- we have water balloons.
Adrian Adamo, a 2011 graduate of Oneonta High School, will be a freshman at Emerson College in Boston. 'Teen Talk' columns can be found at www.thedailystar.com/teentalk.
Teen Talk
On the Go: Goal No. 1 of summer? Stay cool
- Teen Talk
-
-
A Word of Advice: How to become an 'alpha' male
This one’s for the lads and gents, maybe the ladies, too, if they’d care to eavesdrop on this man-to-man I’m about to lay down on the male readership.
-
On the Go: Patriotism doesn't mean keeping status quo
I've been labeled many things, but when anti-American and unpatriotic came into the picture recently I was surprised. I know I have some controversial opinions, but since when does that equate to not loving America? I'm a born and raised American kid, and I love America.
-
Luhrmann brings Gatsby new life
Sure, you would think that being a college student and having finals rapidly approaching would equate to my growing anticipation for the summer and being done with my first year of college.
-
Teenhood Today: Only you can determine your impact
The question I am most often asked is, "What do you want to do with your life?"
-
A Word of Advice: Just do something
If you're not going upward, the only direction you can go is down. To stagnate is to surrender; to do nothing for yourself; to give up on a better day completely. If we sit around feeling good enough in all aspects of life, or just too lazy to fix them, well, as Albert Einstein put it, "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
-
On the Go: Life is like the Cliff Walk
Over spring break, my family and I spent time in Newport, R.I. While we were there, we walked a path known as the Cliff Walk. This walk is nestled between some Newport mansions and some cliffs overlooking the ocean. While we were walking, my sister and I noticed how this path was a perfect metaphor for life and the journey it is.
-
Weekend Reviews: 'Host' plot offers no surprise
Just when we all thought we would be safe to turn on our televisions and re-enter the movie theaters after the last "Twilight" film was released on DVD and Blu-Ray, the cinema gods decided to toy with our emotions once more.
-
Teenhood Today: Responsibility is at heart of gun debate
I'm a hunter. That means that I know exactly where my meat came from, and I know that the animal died in a humane way. Plus venison is my favorite meat.
-
A Word of Advice: Make your building blocks positive ones
One block, two block, three block, the world around you building you up.
-
On the Go: Embrace changes in life
Life is evolving, progressing and changing.
-
Weekend Reviews: Thrifting makes you look incredible
-
Teenhood Today: Finding a happy medium when packing
Packing suitcases should be a sport.
-
A Word of Advice: Don't let power of envy rule your life
Envy is a very powerful thing. Whether on the receiving end of it, or dealing it out yourself, making people want something can be more powerful than any insult you can put on them. It's like waving a steak in a dog's face and putting that dog behind a glass barrier. He sees something in front of him that he wants, something someone else has that he just can't get.
-
On the Go: Don't let happiness hibernate
When was the last time you did something for the first time? When did you last smile? When did you last laugh out loud? When did you lose track of time just chatting with someone? When did you last learn something new?
-
Weekend Reviews: Oscar frontrunners hold relevance
Once again, it is that time of the year: either you’re complaining about the weather or your lack of a valentine, or attempting to view all of the films nominated for this year’s Academy Awards.
-
Teenhood Today: Follow through on good intentions
Most of the time, people have good intentions.
-
A Word of Advice: Change is a brilliant thing
From the beginning of human history, we have come to be through adapting to our environment. So why do we all fear change when it hits our own personal lives?
-
On the Go: Old houses have history to share
My house lives and breathes history.
-
Weekend Reviews: Sparks creates the perfect spark
If you enter the library of any high school in America, chances are the number of books listed under the author "Sparks" will far exceed many others in the fiction section. The author, Nicholas Sparks, has written 17 books, and I'm sure will have two finished and ready to be published by the time this column is printed.
-
Teenhood Today: Broken resolutions can be fixed
-
A Word of Advice: How to become an 'alpha' male
