Difference in a day

6:00 am – 29 degrees, dark, and windy
I left my classes, my books, my twin size bed. I erased the stress, the tension, and the thoughts in my head. My spontaneous Thursday evening decision to make a getaway to South Florida for the holiday was without a doubt the best I’ve made this year thus far. I hopped in my best friend’s car and after a long tedious night of packing and restless rolling in bed, quickly fell asleep…

1:01 pm — 80 degrees, blue skies, and gentle draft from the ocean
From classrooms, pencils, fast food, and leafless trees to royal palms, fine wine, Biscayne Bay, and it’s salty breeze. After seven hours of deep sleep I woke in another world. To my family’s surprise as they came home, they found me sitting in the kitchen eating a turkey sandwich from the half empty fridge. I was welcomed with open but unprepared arms. As I soon found my bedroom had been being used as “the empty, so put whatever in there room”. My big soft comfy bed I had been anxiously yearning to rest in was covered with folded laundry and some of my mother’s business stuff. So as my mother went shopping for groceries and my dad took his afternoon siesta, I set out for water.

5:50 pm – 71 degrees, pink sky from the falling sun, and calm
The closest body of water to Tallahassee, not including Westcott fountain, is over an hour away so I did not hesitate to take the five minute bike ride to the bay from my home. As I drew closer and closer to my favorite beach spot the scent of the sea in the air grew more and more intoxicating. My mind ran through fond memories of the ocean in my life: spear-fishing on coral reefs, boat trips to nearby islands, full-moonlit nights fishing for snook with my dad, and hours of just sitting on the rocks looking over the water. The beach spot by my house is a haven to me, a place where I can let go of reality and spend hours doing nothing but just unwind. The low rumblings of incoming boats, the Key Biscayne lighthouse in the distance, the echoes of a few squawking seagulls, the splash of the occasional eagle ray soaring out of the water. As my first day came to an end, as the sun set behind me, as the vibrant pink sky was draped over by the deep blue of a starry night; my mind was clear and my soul was calm.