(16, PA, USA) Anonymous - Mid July
Every year since before I could even remember, my parents and I load into our car and we drive. When I was younger, it felt like we were driving forever. I would never be able to count how many times “Are we there yet?” has come out of my mouth over the years. Every year, I get that same feeling. The feeling that in just a few hours, I will be at the place that sometimes feels more like home than my actual home. I will soon arrive at the place that has heard the laughs of my late family, the playful screams of all my cousins on the boardwalk, and the countless laughs that we all shared. As we arrive every year, it’s the same. We roll down the windows and finally smell the salty air. If ‘August’ by Taylor Swift were depicted as a moment, that moment would be it. No matter where I am in my life, no matter how I’ve been feeling or what I’ve gone through since the last time I was here, being here makes everything else go quiet. As we drive through the town filled with big beach houses and huge mansions to tiny hotels and small getaway homes, you don’t get a sense of hierarchy like you would at home. Here, everyone’s the same. One person is not better than the other. We’re all here for the same reason: to come back to the place we’ve all grown to love.
As I’ve grown up, this vacation has changed a lot. From loading into a car with all my big cousins to go to the boardwalk, I slowly turned into the big cousin. From getting a piggyback ride from my dad to the beach to giving piggyback rides to my younger cousins. From my dad driving all of us around town to driving around town by myself. Every year that I come back, I am a new person, yet I am still the same little girl who couldn’t wait to come back every year. This is proof that just because you feel you don’t belong in one place, doesn’t mean you don’t belong anywhere. With a little change of scenery, it could feel like your life just got entirely better right in front of you. Even though it’s the same life, you get to see a whole other side of the story. Your life is not over because you feel like you’re worthless where you are right now. The same life you’re living right now could feel like it’s worth so much more just a few hours away from the place you call “home.” I promise the way you’re feeling right now won’t last forever. The world is your oyster. There are plenty of other places that will make you feel like no other, that will make you feel like you’re finally home.
