Catalyst - Issue 001 Catalyst Issue 001 | Page 67

T H E B R E A K I N G P O I N T THOUGHTS BY BROOKE BOWERS Every summer begins with the chance to start fresh. As we arrive to the shack, the typical question pops in our minds; “What’s going to happen this summer?” We meander around, taking days for granted, then before we know it, it’s the Fourth of July–halfway through summer. We look around and in shock? Wallowing in the sudden realization: I haven’t done absolutely anything yet. So we start running more in the morning. Maybe don’t go out as much, or maybe we indulge a little more. We get up earlier, we make the days longer. We take bike rides at dusk. We watch more sunsets and promise to not complain at work. We do everything. It really doesn’t matter what we do as long as we are doing something. But then, we hit a wall. First thought, “Shit.” Secondly, “What the hell am I doing. I’ve still done nothing.” Welcoming in what we like to refer to as the Breaking Point. It hits us hard, like a sack of bricks and we think we’ve singlehandedly messed it all up. ‘That’s it, summers over and I didn’t make the most of it. I just let it slip right through my fingertips.” Then within a day or two, two weeks out on the dwindling days of summer, things magically fall into place. For those final two weeks, anything and everything happens. This is the important stuff. This is the time that our entire summer gets summed up into. There’s nothing but magic. There are a few sad goodbyes but there are many more wild stories. These are the boat days, the late night skinny dips, the jaw-dropping photos, the walks down the boardwalk, the ragers at random houses, the late nights dancing at the bars, and the perfect beach days with even some waves. 67