These are two pictures of the ocean from Myrtle Beach. We went down to Myrtle Beach this past spring break, which was a special treat because my family doesn't travel much. Both of my parents work most days, so we only really travel in the summer on our big extended family vacation, so getting to travel with just my immediate family was really fun. We stayed right on the water so we had a beautiful view at every hour of the day. These pictures are from a morning walk on the beach, which despite looking warm, was very cold. This picture represents trying new things, and finding comfort in family.
These pictures were taken on a random lake in Pinckney that I don't even know the name of. But this is no a random lake. I have been swimming in this lake with my cousins since I was old enough to swim. It's not visible, but if you swim out a little ways, there's this yellow raft, and its an old raft thats always covered in cobwebs and bird droppings, but that raft is holds some of my best memories. The cousins and I always wrestle around and throw each other off and compete for who has the best jump. Even though I couldn't tell you the name of this lake, I could tell you a hundred stories from just the past few years alone. These pictures represent safety and a sense of home.
Every year, during the last week of July, my family takes a big family vacation to Boyne. All of my cousins, aunts and uncles carpool and drive up the four hour trip listening to Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, and eating a ton of junk food. For the past few years we have been doing day trips to Mackinac Island where we buy way too much fudge and shop all day and eat way too much great food. We walk on this gorgeous woodland trail that leads to the arch and down by the water where this picture was taken. This picture represents fun and shopping and irreplaceable memories.
These are more pictures from our family trip up to Boyne, specifically a trip to Lake Michigan. The water was frigid cold and walking into it was like walking into an ice bath. It took us a good hour to get fully into the water. We spent 3 hours body-surfing and getting knocked over by the waves which ended in sunburns for all of us. I wanted the Oil Paint effect to be subtle because i think thats what this memory is to me. We went to the beach like any other day, and there was nothing different about anything we did. But this is one of my favorite memories-theres just something special about it. So I wanted the effect to show that-something the same but different. This picture represents beauty through pain and the smell of summer.
I was very lucky. I grew up in a neighborhood with a lot of little boys who were crazy and dumb and would play from sunrise until dawn every day they could. I was the oldest-by three years-and the only girl so I was always different, but for a while I was one of those crazy dumb boys. We would pretend we were the only kids left on the planet and we would use bark and tree sap to make dinner, as well as some little grass leaves for salads. We would eat chives and swipe raspberries off of our neighbors bushes. We would climb trees and bike on trails and compete for everything. But nothing lasts forever. Eventually I grew apart from the boys, they wanted to wrestle and dirt bike and play video games-I did not. Eventually I stopped seeing them all together. Eventually they moved. But that will never change the hours we spent making "dinner," and pretending to survive off the land. That will never change the fact that they are my brothers in every way except for blood. I was lucky to be one of the crazy dumb boys. These pictures represent growth and nostalgia-and missing something you never truly lost.