Blegh

I hate summer.
Now that I've gotten your attention, let me give you some quick and dirty background information.
1- I'm home schooled. Don't get me wrong, this is an incredible blessing in my life, but it also means that summer vacation, in the sense everyone knows, does not exist for me. I get a four-day school week instead of a five-day one.
2-I live in Texas. If you live or have lived in Texas, that tells you everything you need to know. If you don't and haven't, it's not something that can be explained.
So the two main reasons that make most people go "Ah! Summer!" with a big smile on their face just don't apply to me. And here are the reasons that I actively dislike summer:
1- People expect me to like summer. I hate buying into a group philosophy without a good reason. So far, no one has been able to supply a good reason. See the first two bullet points.
2-I don't like swimming. I can, I will if I have to- but I don't like it. I have enough bad experiences with them that swimming pools are pretty much ruined for me. And as for rivers, creeks, ponds- have you heard of water snakes? Leeches? Seaweed monsters that swallow you whole and digest you in a stomach bag full of greenish-blue acid and then spit out your teeth, nails, and tonsils for your parents to remember you by? Me neither, but I'm not taking a risk on something I can't see through. It's like being afraid of the dark, except that it's with water and I don't remember ever being afraid of the actual dark dark.
3-It's hot.
4-There are bugs, among them something called the chigger, scientific term chiggeritis obnoxicus, fire ants (go back to what I said about Texas) and scorpions.
5-Everyone schedules everything for the summer time. I'm an introvert. I don't like parties or large groups of people. I'm expected to go. My mom makes sure I go. I live for the day when I can say 'No, I'm not going' without having to produce a lack of ride or other compelling reason besides the most compelling one of not wanting to.
6-My birthday is in the summer. I hate (okay, okay, strongly dislike) my birthday. It reminds me that my life is a fuse, steadily burning away. And that I'm growing up. Someday I'll write a post about that. Anyway, I hate how everyone feels a compulsion to say Happy Birthday! like it's something to be proud of that I've survived my parents so long (actually, considering some of the things I've done, that is something to be proud of- but more pride of their self-restraint than my survival skills). They just can't resist reminding me that it's a bad day today.
7-Did I mention it's hot? It's humid, too.
Summer has only two things going for it. One is a lack of seminary. The other is EFY. (Don't ask me what the letters stand for; it's a church sponsored camp- if you call college dorms camping- and it's awesome.)