My summer has a specific taste. Coke and Mountain Dew slushies mixed into the semi-perfect blend. I laugh as I fill my cup, looking incompetent as I try to put the lid on my slushie. I walk around downtown Ada, soaking in the sun washing over my slightly tanned skin. 

Slushies represent the average summer day. The unexplainable joy of being in the moment. The summer holds monotonous days, but they are all filled with relaxation, and even the most boring of them are sprinkled with spontaneous playfulness. This is where my mind drifts when I taste a slushie. 

Each sip of a slushie is a sip of deja vu–laughing with my friends or rolling my eyes at something they said. The moments I find I remember brightly in the summer sun. 

I crave the taste of a slushie; the taste of summer. It’s more than not having school; I yearn for summer because it brings warm weather and a sense of freedom. I still have responsibilities over the summer, but there is less stress as I am rewarded with more free time. 

Meanwhile, summer nights are decorated with milkshakes. The creamy treat is a reminder of the restless nights, running through the yard chasing one of my young family members. 

Summer nights are the embodiment of youthfulness. All cares are thrown into the slight breeze, the free time that is a promise of summer hides in the late nights. Even if I fall asleep before midnight, I am gifted with a glimpse of the adolescent attitude these nights entail. 

When the smooth richness of a milkshake hits my lips, I am thrown into the multitude of memories I have of sitting at the dock at the local ice cream shop near my cottage. My little cousins and siblings around me, feet dangling in the water, the calming wind that comes with the warmth of summer effortlessly blowing my hair. Care and stress-free as fish dance around my feet and laughter swarms me. 

Milkshakes bring forth memories of my family, the uncontrollable laughter that streams from their mouths at the most juvenile things. I find myself laughing with them. Memories of summer surround me whenever I drink either a milkshake or a slushie. One with friends, another with family. Both have me dreaming of being in the summer season. I cannot choose whether or not I prefer the day or night just as I cannot choose whether I enjoy slushies or milkshakes more. 

The night is filled with mystery and slap-happy-induced laughs. The day is composed of splashes in the lake, dressing up for no one but yourself, and knowing exactly why you are laughing. 

I will never not say yes to a milkshake or a slushie, no matter the season. The taste of summer’s long days and even longer nights will always be welcomed. I spread out how often I divulge in these summer tinted treats to make the memories more potent each first sip.