Walking among palm trees and sand

Going to the beach is one of the best things ever, so ever since I was a little girl, many of my friends would rent a big bus for the whole day, and a group of at least forty-five of us would go to the beach. I remember that for those outings, we had to wake up early, and even though I usually had to get up early for school too, when we were going to the beach, I didn’t mind when my mom woke me up in the morning because I was so excited I couldn’t even sleep.

​So going to the beach was always a really special time for me, and I’m talking about when I was a little girl because that’s what it was all about—just going to have fun—and in fact, I’d spend the whole day in the water and only come out to eat or to go home. And for me, that’s the feeling you should have when you make plans to see the ocean again—pure joy to the point where you can’t sleep at night because you know the next day is going to be absolutely amazing.

​I recently realized that as you get older, that feeling changes a little bit. At least here in the area where I live, going to the beach has become something else—most people go to show off their bodies or take photos for social media and things like that. And honestly, there’s nothing wrong with that, but I feel like we’ve forgotten a bit what we used to want to do at the beach when we were kids. I hardly have any photos from when I was a little girl going to the beach because I was always in the water—since the important thing wasn’t showing the world that you were there.

This time I was able to go back to the beach, but since I was on my period, I couldn’t go in the water, so to keep my friends company, I simply offered to watch their bags while they enjoyed the ocean. The experience was nice and really lovely; I had a great time walking along the sand, looking at it, and feeling its texture under my feet.

I sat in the shade of a tree that I usually only see at the beach—palm trees. It surprises me that these trees, despite being so tall and having such unique, sparse branches, provide so much shade. I remembered those times when my mom would sit there watching the bags while we enjoyed the ocean, and I always thought she didn’t like the beach because she wasn’t enjoying being there, but in reality, the reason was something else.

Sometimes it’s nice to be in a place where you can hear the ocean and the breeze in the background—so strong that you can’t help but hear it rustling nearby. Enjoying a trip to the beach without having to go in the water or put on a swimsuit to take photos for social media is also perfectly fine. So my walk this Wednesday was on the beach, feeling the sand beneath my feet, the water lapping at the shore, and of course the palm trees providing shade and the breeze caressing me as it passed.

This trip to the beach was totally different because I was able to experience it from a different perspective. During the day, I wasn’t bored by being out of the water; instead, I had a great time reflecting and taking a nice walk in a place very different from where I usually am. So from now on, even when I can go in the water, I want to feel that excitement of going back.