Lon Long Beach

Peaceful, natural escapes are hard to find on Long Island. We are surrounded by so many people, homes, buildings, and roads every day. Traditional words to describe a natural place take on new meaning for a child growing up in the suburbs. For example, a park becomes known as a place with huge slides and swings to play on, not a beautiful escape. A beach becomes a place with lifeguards, rules and regulations, food, water parks, and parking lots and not a place to listen to the waves. The beach of Long Beach, NY is a place that I know very well. It is beloved by all those who live in Long Beach as well. After Hurricane Sandy, you could really see how much the beach really meant to everyone. It is a place that I’ve always known, and will always hold a special place in my heart.

I recall going there with my family, eating lunch, playing with other kids, and swimming. I remember later going to the beach with my friends, gossiping, talking about boys and school. I then think back to last summer when I was by myself and had the best time. It is only in the past few years that I feel like I’ve truly appreciated Long Beach. In the summer, I take naps on the beach, initially with my headphones in, but later realize that the music had stopped and that I’ve been listening to the waves the whole time. It is a place that I can sit and look out into nowhere; sometimes thinking about things, sometimes not. I can now relate this feeling to Thoreau’s “Walking” piece. He finds it liberating to travel without a destination and I find it liberating to think without a specific topic or