Summer = Goals

Summer, of course, is goals in the way that the young kids these days mean it: Summer is literally the pinnacle of life, and although I’ve suspected it for a long time, each year serves to confirm this idea. Summer is flowers growing with no care in the world. Summer is the memory of childhood and the feeling of utter wildness that lies dormant in our bones. Summer is the weather throwing a riot: sunshine and clouds and cataclysmic winds. Summer is picnics for no reason, the stains of freezer pops and blackberries, the smell of chlorine, bug spray, sunscreen and fresh grass.

Summer is also goals: having a little more time, the freedom to switch up one’s routine, the obligation to keep one’s promises to oneself. And so, as an educator who made a lot of promises to herself to accomplish things once the semester was over, Summer also means making good on promises.

For me, one of these goals was to start my podcast about places: What Happened Here? It’s an exploration of the collision of nature, history, culture, and infrastructure: the places with stories to tell. If that sounds interesting to you, take a listen! The first episode concerns one of my favorite ghost towns: Petroleum Centre, Pennsylvania.