I grew up five miles from the beach. It was always my "backyard" until I left for college. I have so many distinct memories of my father taking my sister and I to the ocean when we were young. He would bring the boogie boards and he would take us so far (well what 5-year-old me thought was far) out and then we would come crashing in on the waves.

Though the beach is the place I go to think, be with friends, and dream, it was not always like that. For a period in my life, I disliked the beach. The thought of being judged by all my peers out in the open petrified me. I did not want to go with friends or family, I would have rather stayed home and done nothing. From around fifth to eighth grade, I could never be found at the beach.

Then one of my best friends, Sarah, changed my mind. She took me to the beach and showed me that I could have a good time no matter what I looked like. I needed to portray confidence and then no one would look at me any other way than confident. Sarah and I would roll around in the sand and have the best time telling jokes and gossiping. I owe her for making the beach my happy place.

As the years went on I continued to go to the beach whenever I could. Summer weeks would seem incomplete without at least two trips to the beach. When I reached the age of 16 and was able to drive I would go to the beach as much as possible. Sunrise, during the day, sunset, the middle of the night-- it didn't matter.

Seal Beach is where I took all my secrets, my worries, and my feelings. The beach at night is incredibly special to me because thats where I would bring friends and we would have some of the deepest conversations. We would ponder as to why people think the way they do, and how the moon controls the tide. From conversations based on science to conversations about philosophy, they would never end. I have a few friends that are my go-to beach goers. Some I go with during the day, and some I go with at night. They are whom I consider my best friends.

I use the word "would" because I'm in college now. The closest beach is three-and-a-half hours away. I don't have the easy access that I once did. However, whenever I am home, the beach is my first and my last stop. I make sure to go and just appreciate it and all of its beauty. I am so thankful that I was able to live and grow up in such a beautiful environment.

The beach is my happy place and always will be. I feel safest when I am in the warm sand and the cool waves. The fact that the ocean is so vast does not scare me. I can forever be found at the beach because that is where I am happiest.