I absolutely love living in the UK, especially so close to London. But there comes days when the weather is just starting to feel springy that I get a pang of homesickness for white sand beaches on a Carolina coast. In the dreary rain today, I can't help planning my next trip home.
Moving to Surrey marked the first time since I was 8 that I've lived away from the beach. I grew up there and ending up attending the University of North Carolina Wilmington just down the coast. after that it was grad school in Swansea, one of the closest Uni's to the beach in the world. I haven't quite adjusted to the absence of salty sea air or the fact I struggle to think of things to do around here on a sunny day.
I grew up on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, a chain of barrier islands famed for their amazing beaches. At home you won't find high rise hotels and it's easy to find your own spot on the expanse of beach. It's a place where flip flops are the most acceptable forms of footwear, where everyone lives for summer. Winters are quiet and dull, with barely a shop open, but come summer the islands are buzzing with life, even if it is hoards of vaguely annoying tourists.
I'm not sure if it's just the weather, or the simplicity of life in general there I'm missing a bit. In the seemingly endless struggle of trying to make it as a journalist, it doesn't surprise me that a part of me misses mornings spent in the sun followed by a cushy job at a clothing and gift store (the type of place that sells miniature lighthouses and wine glasses painted with fish, massive stuffed dolphins and hundreds of sweatshirts and t-shirts all emblazoned with OBX). I wore flip flops and sundresses and the sting of summer on my skin and did a job I knew like the back of my hand.
I'm (hopefully) planning a big trip home in September and hopefully bringing my boyfriend with me for his first USA adventure (which should be very interesting indeed!) I'm excited to get to eat at my old favourite restaurants and introduce Matt to the weird yet wonderful place I grew up. (And get in some beach and surfing time of course!)
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