An Ode to the End of Summer Situationships

Maddie Tran

As if synonymous with the seasons itself, the end of summer often marks the end of summer situationships. Unless you’re like my good friend Charlotte, one of the lucky ones, whose summer fling has continued beyond August, you and your situational other have probably ended somewhere along these autumnal lines: leaves transform into hues of orange and red, texts become more and more spaced apart, the wind has a chillier bite and the prospect of an actual relationship drifts further away. 

Naturally, fall becomes the grieving period. As the days lengthen and the sun sets earlier, we allow ourselves to lament those hot summer nights and wonder what could’ve been.

But three months later, fall disappears, and it’s December. In most places—not California—the world ushers in a thick blanket of snow that covers all: a blank canvas for the incoming new year. And with a new canvas comes new paint and, more importantly, new opportunities.

So I am not going to tell you to simply get over with them, forget and move on. 

If anything, I am a firm believer in not forgetting. Call me sentimental, but I believe that everything means something, and if they were worth spending your summer on, they are worth lasting in your memory. 

Usually, the most pain is found in not committing to one side or the other, moving on or not. It’s the pain of waiting in limbo, where your actions and thoughts don’t quite align, and you are left in a state of yearning. It is the pain of missing someone but doing nothing about it. It is the pain of holding onto someone who is already gone. 

If the door has closed, then that is that. You have your answer. 

But if you believe there is a chance, if you are tired of a ping-pong game of longing back and forth, even leaving your light on to see if the other person is awake, I implore you to explore more. 

If there are doors still open or questions left unanswered, this is your sign to open and ask them. So reach out. Like their story. Text back an apology or talk to them at a party. Forgive or don’t. Remind them your light is still on.