It’s hot! Really hot! But I don’t care. I have escaped. I’ve escaped from long tests, boring lectures and teachers who don’t understand. I’ve escaped from pressuring friends, awkward encounters and questionable insecurities.
It’s still hot but the cool breeze of the ocean calms me down. Disruptive thoughts of friends with drama, boys and daily doubts wither away with the soft sand beneath my toes. Peace comes over me and I can breathe.
The water is cold. With ever wave my now seemingly small problems disappear beneath the icy froth into the deep blue. Showers of droplets fall upon my shoulders and I can think of nothing else but the smell of the water rushing around me.
My body, once tense, has now relaxed. I move with the ocean as if we are one. The current is soft and rocks me into a hypnotic trance. I let myself go and for a while I am me. Me with no expectations of from my elders. Me with nothing to prove to my friends. Me just me. Totally excepted and never judged.
The coolness of the ocean gives me strength. Strength that I will need when I have left this solemn place. Strength to be what others expect. Strength to ignore petty offenses from my peers. Strength to grow and become who I want to be.
I breathe. I breathe in the ocean and hide it deep within my soul. I keep it there hidden to remind me that I am me . In the toughest of time, I am me. Tall, strong, smart and resilient.