The presence of water throughout my seventeen years seems to be a reoccurring theme, for almost every place that I have lived and all the places that I love have been close to the ocean. Although each location was unique in its own aspects, they all seem to symbolize a sense of peace and conjure fond memories of times past.
The first five years of my life I lived on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina in a house that was directly across the street from the ocean. Of all the beaches I have seen, this one in particular holds the greatest sentimental value for me. Although I do have a few vivid memories of island life, I believe my love for the place has grown with the stories of the island that have been told to me by my parents. After hearing each of these stories repeatedly they seem almost as real to me as my own recollections. I have also gained much respect for the beauty that can be found on these beaches of my youth through the visits that I have been on in recent years. It is on these trips to the Isle of Palms that I have begun to notice certain things I had previously passed over without a second thought. The natural and tranquil beauty that can be found on the island is truly its most striking aspect, and I simply overlooked it as a child. I can remember splashing around and chasing the schools of minnows that darted about in the gullies of water that were separated from the ocean at low tide by a small bank of sand, yet until recently I had forgotten how picturesque they really were. The beach that I had so carelessly tramped on was made of the finest grains of sand that looked like tiny beads of glass, and it had been shaped by the wind blowing over the water in the gullies so that it resembled the ridges on the roof of your mouth. These tiny and seemingly endless mountain ranges that covered the beach were packed down so tightly that when you walked across them barefoot, it felt as though you were walking on wrinkles.
Other memories of the Isle of Palms that seem engraved in my mind are the many things that I did to amuse myself throughout the day. In the morning I would pick the blackberries that grew wild on the sand dunes or watch the ocean and wait patiently to see some of the marine life that was so abundant. In the early hours of the day I recall watching the pelicans that so frequently dropped down to the water and came back up with a fish in their great beaks. During the afternoons I loved to play in the ocean for the waves were calm and the water warm; I was allowed to wade out far into the water because the slope of the ocean floor was remarkably gradual. It was during my afternoon playtime that I became an extraordinary drip castle creator, yet I always built my masterpieces too close to the waterline, for they were constantly being swept away by the tide. The evenings were filled with walks along the shoreline and scrambled pursuits of the tiny white ghost crabs that scurried along the beach. It was so difficult to catch them because a soon as you thought you had them in your grasp, they were gone down one of their holes in the sand only to emerge again from a different hole further down the beach. Even though my mother was always there to watch over me, my daily accomplishments made me feel independent and free. Each of the beaches that I have visited fill me with a peace of mind as well as an odd sense of freedom even though they have their own temperaments and special memories.
I moved from the Isle of Palms to Monterey, California. The differences between the two places were infinite. I remember the sheer cliffs that overlooked the small rocky beaches that were pounded again and again by the huge waves that rolled in from the Pacific Ocean. When the tide went out far enough there was a small window of time where you could carefully pick your way down the cliff face to the beach and study the tide pools that were formed in the rocks. It was so much fun to peer into the watery worlds of the spiny sea anemones, the iridescent shells of the abalone, and the gigantic starfish.
I later moved to the outskirts of Seattle, Washington where I was only a few minuet's walk from the Puget sound. This body of water was so calm and smooth compared to that I had observed in Monterey that it seems difficult to believe that it bordered on the same great ocean. The main reasoning behind their differences is that the Olympic Peninsula shields the Puget Sound from the strong currents of the Pacific. The Olympic Mountains were visible from the shore and their peaks were always topped with snow, which paralleled the frigid temperatures of the sound. I remember walking along the waterline in bare feet dancing in and out of the waves trying to see how long I could stand to keep my feet in the water.
One last beach that holds many memories for me is Long Beach Island, New Jersey. My grandparents have a house there and every chance that we get over the summer vacation; my family and I will make the eleven-hour drive up the coast to another of my favorite beaches. The island is long but very narrow so it is never more than a few blocks from the bay to the beach, and one of my favorite pastimes is to walk from one to the other. The bay is typically calm and full of boaters and fishermen, while the ocean is temperamental and is usually varied throughout the day. Sometimes it is calm and other times the waves and current are so strong people are not allowed in the water. Some of my favorite places on the island are the jetties that plunge out into the ocean, for they are spaced about four blocks from each other and they section off little neighborhood beaches that each become a world of its own. I love to sit at night on the beaches of Long Beach Island, in the sand that has just cooled from the sun's daily heat and watch the stars come out.
Every one of these beaches holds a deep meaning in my life, for they possess memories of my childhood and times past, and have their own unique stories and temperaments that I have attached to them through my experiences. Because of these experiences I will always see the beach as my home. Although I feel somewhat more connected to some of the places than others, I have loved them each dearly and I believe that for the rest of my life I will see the ocean as I did as a child. A place to chase the minnows, study the tide pools, dance in and out of the waves, and sit on the sand and watch the stars come out.
Back to Main
Back to All About Me