Warm, waited, wanted. I always looked forward to spring break. The warm weather darkened my skin, lightened my hair, and made me feel happier. My family's annual trip to Destin is the one thing I look forward to all year. I find myself craving that feeling I get when arriving in Florida, our rental house, and my new home for the next week. 

Entering my new bedroom I smell the freshly washed bedding, as well as towels. It feels as if it is a commencement to a “new life.” Life feels so unreal here. The first thing I do is tidy up my room, set out my pillows, blankets, and chargers. I open my suitcase and re-fold all the compacted clothing, separating into drawers of pants, shirts, and undergarments. Once I finish unpacking, I quickly change and eagerly rush to the beach for the first time since last year. I walk down the stairs, hearing the waves crash against the sand, I feel a weight lifted off of my shoulders. This is where I am meant to be, I think to myself. Stepping onto the sand, it warms my feet, sending goosebumps up and down my body, I feel the warm sun against my skin. Looking out into the ocean, the water glistens, its blue color reflects the sun adding a sparkle to the water. I hear the novice of a surfer grunt as he falls off his surfboard, I notice my cousins as well as myself chuckling. 

After a long day at the beach, my cousins and I return back to the house, we get ready together while the music blasts over Olivia’s speaker, the windows open with the breeze blowing in our hair. Picking out our outfits we all assimilate simultaneously. With our coordinating outfits we hop into the golf cart and head out to dinner.

Before I know it, the minutes have turned into hours, and the hours have turned into days. As if time could never slow down, tick, tick, tick. Before I know it, my family and I enter upon our last day, laying on our towels, I turn to my cousin and say, “I don’t want to leave.” As I think about going back home, and back to school, It brings a pit into my stomach. 

As my family and I back up the car, I clean up my room, make the bed, and carry my suitcase downstairs, just like I did, 7 days earlier. I take a deep breath as we begin driving away and I think, I’ll be back soon.