Last summer, I spent most of my vaca on Tybee Island. My friends and I woke up early almost every morning and drove out to the Island, windows down, music up, and spirits flying high. We'd lay on the beach all day and get the same mango flavored sorbet at this little ice cream shop on the strip. I remember another ice shop right down the street always had a chalk sign outside that read, "We have Ice, Ice Baby," to lure in thirsty customers.
We spent a weekend in Jacksonville and hit all the best clubs, ate pizza for breakfast, and every single sunset had an ocean view. Mornings were never hard to face, afternoons were never boring and evenings were never, ever lonely.
Mornings began by grabbing a quick coffee and holding an impromptu powwow to plan the daily schedule, then slipping into bikinis and oversized tees and jumping in the party wagon. Afternoons led into lounging around on the warm sand or curling up on the couch and binge watching Disney and indie movies. Evenings ended with hitting a great restaurant and washing out our suits for the next morning.
Working out meant strapping on a pair of Nikes and hitting the jogging strips, shops to the left and Atlantic Ocean to the right. Shopping near the beach meant going in every store barefoot and bikini-ed because everyone else did the same thing. And every day meant expecting a new adventure to come our way.
It was a far cry from the dirty Louisville cityscape or the Southern suburbs. Being by the ocean is like entering an entirely different world where time is slower, the sun is brighter and life is just a little bit easier to handle.
Is it the salty smell in the air, detectable for at least 30 miles West of the coast, or the copious amount of vitamin D our skin soaks up? Or maybe it's the freedom we've been granted. No papers to turn in, no job to be on time for (at least for freshman and sophomores), no bedtimes, no restrictions and no limits.
Summer isn't just a season, it's a lifestyle. A seasonal lifestyle, but a lifestyle nonetheless. Our summer clothes take up the bulk of our wardrobe, even though it's the shortest of all four seasons. We travel hundreds of miles to spend our summers on the very edges of continents, just to lay beside oceans that we rarely ever actually swim in. We waste our time and money on food, clothes, parties, beach equipment and gas just to be closer with each other and the water.
So what's the allure? Why is the ocean the heart of summer? Two words.
It's amazing.
The ocean is one of God's most beautiful and natural creations, so vast, so deep and so mysterious. We are drawn to it because of its beauty, it's poetic nature, and because it's the right time. When it's warm enough to sit on the edge of North America and stare for hours at a seemingly endless body of water, why not make up excuses for why you're there?
"I'm here to tan."
"I'm here for the cute girls, bro."
"I'm here for my kids."
Whatever your reason for finding yourself on the edge of the world, embrace it. Don't let the summer pass you by without soaking in all the beauty of the world around you. When you're at that beach party with your friends, excuse yourself for five minutes to go see that big, blue pond for yourself. As the water rushes over your feet and carries specks of sand through your toes, don't be afraid to take it all in.
Even though you know it's not going to last, and that in a couple months you'll be back in a classroom listening to a lecture on Descartes, let yourself live. The ocean is for everyone, but not everyone can understand it.
