Manuel Lopez | Staff Illustrator

Eighteen units, two jobs, and a blur of a semester later, I have decided to reclaim my summer. I will not be doing an internship or another awful food job; instead, I will be packing my bags and becoming a church camp counselor in rural Wisconsin. This is possibly the most impulsive thing I’ve ever done. Being a native Missourian, I will be 13 hours away from my family and everything I’ve ever done in my free time. 

However, as a horror fanatic, I have decided to make this my “slasher summer.” For the uncultured readers, slasher summer is the aesthetic inspired by iconic slasher films with a camp setting, set around the 80s. The term slasher summer has experienced a few spikes in popularity, most notably in 2021. The foundational movies representing this aesthetic are the “Friday the 13th” films, but it is also showcased in more recent films like “Fear Street: 1978” and “Hell of a Summer.” 

To fit into a trending aesthetic, we are subconsciously taught to create distance from our authentic self. However, I think slasher summer can be separated from previous aesthetics and their frivolous ways. Slasher summer is achievable with a change in our activities and mindset, not a new wardrobe or a perfect picture.

This aesthetic goes beyond watching slasher films and becoming a camp counselor in the middle of nowhere (or just dressing like one). Slasher summer requires us to disconnect from an online and professional presence. When we allow this distance in our lives, we are able to connect with ourselves as people outside of trying to impress others and alter our personality for the workplace. Thus we can all be the poster person for this aesthetic with only minor tweaks to our lives. And so I provide my StudLife guide to the best summer of your life. 

First things first, you have got to get off your phone. The phones don’t work in these films! They are in the woods or have the landline cut. And you shouldn’t feel sad you can’t call anyone to help you escape from this summer lifestyle; imagine a summer where you aren’t in your bed at noon, scrolling through Instagram, watching the people you knew in high school on the beach in a bikini. 

Instead, this summer you will get out of bed and adopt an “I’ll do it alone” mentality. No more waiting for your friends to want to do the things you want to do. This summer, nothing will keep you from experiencing life, so go on hikes alone and swim in lakes (while being safe; you don’t want a murderer sneaking up on you) because you will be comfortable being with yourself. At first you will probably feel uncomfortable, but it’s important to acknowledge why, and push past it.

However, being stupid with your friends is also part of the slasher summer aesthetic. With the constant pressure we face while at school, we deserve a summer of stupidity. This means bringing back good old-fashioned 80s fun: bike around the suburbs at night, go skating, chase down ice cream trucks, and just play. For the part-time Missourian who returns back to their roots in summer, you too can embrace slasher summer activities. This may look more like bowling, listening to 80s music with friends, watching moviethons, driving out of the city, or reading at nearby parks. At its core, slasher summer is embracing a lack of responsibility and care.

It is important to keep in mind where we go to school, though. This means we have to keep up with our reading! So, I am moving away from my childish literature (like “Paradise Lost” and “Beowulf”) and onto the actual intellectual literature, R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps.” I know Stine is an intimidating author to approach, so I recommend beginner books like “Welcome to Camp Nightmare” and “Ghost Camp.” To fully embrace slasher summer, these books are best read at night paired with a bonfire. 

This summer you don’t have to spend a fortune to curate an 80s aesthetic or stream tons of old horror movies, but you do have to enjoy your summer. This is not the time to “get ahead” or make connections — we do this most of the year. This is the time to discover ourselves and make mistakes while we are still able to. Slasher summer is embracing the environment you’re in and yourself, and not falling into the lie that we constantly have to overwork and achieve to be successful. 

I do understand that people are sometimes stuck with responsibility. For those like me who need a job for expenses while at school, I recommend getting a job with people you like at a place you like. This may look like a movie theater with late-night shifts, a local library, or a diner in your town. Having a job doesn’t take away from slasher summer! It may lead you to new friends or opportunities you wouldn’t have had access to without. 

The people who foster hobbies and address their personal needs will succeed more in all aspects of life compared to the ones who do not take care of themselves and become their work. So as we end the semester and solidify our summer plans, ask if it looks like a summer for discovering yourself.