Our minds and bodies shift in a distinct way in the summer. Sleeves get shorter, sweat becomes a daily norm, back patios in restaurants and homes open up for use, and we’re more exposed than ever. It’s a time when people become more aware of their desires, both as a means to stabilize our body temperature and to exercise the freedom that comes with open air. As the season comes to an end, we���re reflecting on things people crave during it, from sex and power to a different climate altogether.
SEX
I only sporadically follow through with my desires for sex because, generally speaking, the act involves dealing with other humans. I’d almost always rather just go to bed alone. Mmm. An empty bed, with an optional cool side. What a lovely thing. But the desire is always palpable, and mostly inescapable. The spine-tingling stillness that comes after seeing someone I’m into, the chest throbbing, the weightlessness coupled with an acute awareness of my body's nervous machinations — that alone is a journey. I usually stop the journey there, but every once in a while there’s a dude who, for lack of a better term, can just get it. Our eyes send telegrams across the room, carrying an invitation to explore.
— Aaron Edwards
MONEY
Anything is possible with money, a fact that makes acquiring wealth an intoxicating pursuit. Imagine waking up, as the likes of Jeff Bezos do, only to find that you’ve amassed more money overnight than many small countries accrue in domestic product. In this way, money is sexy. It’s irresistible. It holds the type of power that no individual in our hyper-capitalist world can overcome. To have money, all of the money, is to dominate so absolutely that the literal Earth must bend to your whims. Money, for me, remains utterly unattainable, a mythical beast with the keys to power I can only imagine, which makes it all the more desirable.
— Jeff Ihaza
TRAVEL
To travel freely in the world is the ultimate privilege. There are so many mechanisms in place that bind us to our settlements. It seems natural that the desire to get away emerges from this structural suffocation. Earlier this year, I had a growing urge to travel that became so strong that I booked a one-way ticket to London just days in advance of the flight. I didn’t know how long I would be there, or where else I would go, but I knew that I had to get there. Whether it’s a walk along the scenic route or a flight to the other side of the world, escape can feel like the best way to cope with the oppressive systems we inhabit. Fulfilling wanderlust is a luxury, but wanderlust itself is a universal feeling.
— Khalila Douze
FOOD
It’s 3 a.m. and the DJ is winding the night down, shifting away from soca and trap to some R&B and neosoul. Your friends are growing weary from dutty wining, tired from twerking. Then, someone makes the best suggestion: “Does...anybody want a burrito?” Yes. You DO want a burrito. So much. So much that now it’s the only thing that matters. You and some massive, decadently packed burrito. After hours of sweating, all you can think about is taking that first bite and feeling the salsa, chorizo, melted cheese, and white sauce glide down your tongue. You blush at the thought.
— Aaron Edwards
SLEEP
There’s no feeling like being tired, especially when you can’t fall asleep. It’s a feeling I know well, and have tried to hack with all kinds of sleep induction methods. I've tried melatonin, sleep balm, Dream Water, chamomile tea, weed gummies, working out. I've tried it all. Chasing sleep has become a game to me. It makes me miss childhood, and the nights when I'd fall asleep on the couch or in the car on the way home. I envy people who, as adults, are still able to fall asleep away from their beds. What a true indulgence of a desire for something — you want it so bad that you let go of all cognitive ability and motor skills, sink into what you lust for completely, and leave the will of your mind and body to a greater force.
— Khalila Douze
