They say you should try experimenting when in college, overseas, or “in the bedroom”. Understandably, some people choose to knock out all three of those at once. (You know who you are, you liberated study abroad students). But for those of you who are mentally drained from another semester of college, and want to experiment with something less committal…it’s called a “summer fling”.

If you haven’t seen “Grease” or “Dirty Dancing”, you are probably unaware of the magical powers that summer possesses; but there are good reasons for the summer fling and its staying power.

1. If the fling gets weird: there’s a good chance you can avoid said “experiment” for the rest of the summer.

2. You don’t have to commit: not to anyone, not to anything, especially if you’re just visiting (or they are).

3. Love hurts…less: How is it that dumping someone at the end of summer vacation seems less harsh than during the year? Harsh, but true.

4. Time: Thanks to longer daylight hours there are more activities you can pack into a day. Your schedule is more flexible.

5. Show some skin: Summer is the best time for clothes. You can wear your skimpiest outfit and tell everyone it’s hot, or you can cover up bits you don’t like and tell everyone you don’t want to burn. Win/Win.

Just don’t make the foolish mistakes of: experimenting with cousins (that’s incest, and pretty gross), getting attached to an experiment (your said fling has a higher chance of being noncommittal), not safely experimenting (do we really have to talk about this? you don’t want to have to suffer through summer with STDs), OR taking the experimenting process too seriously. It’s summer, be carefree! It’s been proven time and again that it’s when you aren’t actively looking for someone or something that more opportunities happen to come your way.

The important part of summer is just trying something new. Sometimes that isn’t an option during the school year, because you’re too busy or you’re too nervous about disrupting your schedule. If you’re not into summer flings (or maybe you have a steady fling aka a boyfriend situation) then maybe try a “new diet.” I’m not talking about South Beach or Atkins or whatever. Just mix up your usual food routine. For example try eating raw for a week or going vegetarian for a few days. Try some more difficult recipes or mix your own signature drinks.

The important thing to remember is: it’s SUMMER! Relax!

Kara Lindsey is a recent graduate from the University of Texas at Austin. She received her BS in Radio-Television-Film.