With Rhode Islanders getting a much-needed reprieve from recent, relentlessly scorching heat waves this week, it provides an opportunity to ponder the transitional nature of August; a month that separates and serves as a transitionary period between the joys of summer and the onset of New England’s most beloved autumn.

Augustus, the ancient Roman man who would be enshrined into history books as the founder and first emperor of the world’s largest empire following the assassination of Julius Caesar, and whose name we unconsciously invoke when we mention the month, embodied the concept of seizing a transitory period and shaping it into something wholly unprecedented.

Needless to say, as with any study of ancient history, this transitional period from pre-Augustus Rome to post-Augustus Rome was not devoid of bloodshed or suffering, but what emerged from the chaos now remains, thousands of years later, as a legacy of revolutionary accomplishments in governance, infrastructure, and, ultimately, extended periods of peace and prosperity during a time when such stability was not the norm.

Today, although the meaning behind the name is not something people likely think of, August still serves as a period of immense transitional importance for people young and old.

For younger students, an inner clock begins ticking as they look ahead to a dwindling number of days remaining in their school vacation, and preparations are made for their next year of study. High school graduates anxiously await moving into dorms and on-campus apartments, where they will meet strangers who will become their roommates and, ideally, friends for life. College graduates who have taken the summer to travel or enjoy before entering the workforce begin coming to grips with their newfound adulthood, and what decisions they must make to be successful.

Adults, too, face transitionary periods as their children go off into the world and continue to grow. Teachers look ahead to a new year of new faces and new possibilities to alter the course of young peoples’ lives in a positive and meaningful way.

After the burn of summer, the refreshing breezes of August can provide some much needed relief, and likewise can they provide a clean slate for those eager to begin shaping their own futures.