Opinion piece by Borka Schuster
Look, I know that by the middle of summer you're starting to lose it a little, so I think it's time someone told you: not every summer has to be the best summer of your life. Say it with me, you can do it. Not. Every. Summer. Has. To. Be. The. Best. One. Ever.
Somehow, every single year, the moment the good weather arrives we feel it kick in: the performance race is on, and we're supposed to enjoy ourselves by sheer force of will. Simply living through the summer isn't enough anymore — you have to max it out. With experiences. Activities. Trips. Sunsets. Cocktails. Paddleboarding. Picnics. Festivals. Sunflower fields.
And ideally all of it should look great on Instagram, too.
Summer stopped being a season and became a project
And the media is happily playing along.
Before we can even blink, here comes the article about how to make this your "unforgettable summer." Then the list of fifty must-do summer activities. Then the ten places you absolutely have to visit this year. And then, of course, the products, without which the whole thing is obviously worthless.
Self-tanner. UV-protecting hair mist. A new swimsuit. A limited-edition beach bag. A glittery unicorn pool float, because summer just isn't summer without one.
Clearly, it's simply impossible to be happy in August without all of the above.
Sometimes the whole thing feels genuinely absurd to me. It's as if someone were trying to convince us that we have to make up for an entire life in three months. And if we don't manage it, we must have done something wrong.
What if, just for a moment, we stopped listening to the people trying to sell us something?
Because in the end, that's what this is really about. We don't need a new experience for every single weekend because otherwise we'd be terrible people leading uneventful lives — we need it because someone wants us to buy a new outfit for the occasion, a new suitcase, a new sunscreen, or yet another "experience package."
If the thought of packing already stresses you out before you've even left, you might recognize yourself in this gentler, stress-free approach to getting ready for a trip.
And summer is the perfect marketing tool. After all, who doesn't want to be happy?
The trouble is, we've managed to confuse happiness with constant excitement. And the two are not the same thing at all.
I can remember summers, for instance, when barely anything remarkable happened. I worked. In the evenings I'd take an ice cream to the park nearby. Sometimes we went to the beach. Sometimes we didn't.
There were a few barbecues with friends, a couple of small day trips, and a lot of afternoons spent by an open window in front of a fan.
Those were perfectly good summers, too. They didn't make it onto any bucket list, they never turned into a movie-worthy montage — but at least I didn't stress myself half to death over them either.
What's changed since childhood is that now we can see into everyone else's summer — or at least we think we can — and thanks to social media we start to believe that we're the only losers whose biggest event of the season will be finally repainting the kitchen, while everyone else is apparently on some flawless holiday.
Just like at Christmas everyone's holiday is perfect, in January everyone starts a brand-new life, in spring everyone blossoms, and in autumn everyone sips a cinnamon latte under a blanket. Of course they do.
I don't believe every season has to break some kind of record, and we certainly shouldn't feel that if this year we "only" get a quiet summer, we've somehow missed out.
If you're a parent, you might find that this same permission to slow down applies to your kids, too — there's a lot to be said for not cramming the school break full of activities.
Not every summer can be the best summer of your life. But any of them can be one you actually lived — instead of one you spent worrying about whether you were enjoying it enough.
Why do we feel so much pressure to have the "perfect" summer?
A lot of it comes from marketing and social media. Summer is a powerful selling season, so we're constantly nudged to buy products and experiences to make the "best summer ever" — and to make it look good online.
Is it bad to have a quiet, uneventful summer?
Not at all. Quiet summers spent working, relaxing at home, or taking small local trips can be just as fulfilling. The idea that every season has to break a record is something we've absorbed, not a rule.
Why does social media make my summer feel inadequate?
Because we now see curated glimpses of everyone else's holidays and assume they're the norm. That can make an ordinary summer feel like a failure, even though most people's real lives look far more low-key.
What's the difference between happiness and constant excitement?
We often confuse the two, but they aren't the same. Constant stimulation isn't the same as contentment — and chasing nonstop excitement can actually pull you away from genuinely enjoying the moment.
