One of my very first memories is when I was around the age of 4 or 5, I was sitting in the car, and we were in New Buffalo, Michigan. It was a cold and crisp day outside, snow slowly falling on the ground. Our car was parked on the old dirt road which led to our new house. As I looked out of the car window, I remember feeling the cool touch against my fingers as if the window was talking to me, and telling me its cold outside. and seeing my parents on the roof of our new house that was being built. They were talking to a contractor, I remember running inside the house, I could feel the cold flakes of snow fall on my sweatshirt. When I got into the house I can remember feeling the hardwood when I pushed the door open, and the smell of freshly cut wood and a new house.

I think this is one of my earliest memories because I spent so much time in New Buffalo as a kid it was my favorite place to go, only an hour away from my house in Chicago it was my favorite place and I have so many of my best memories there. Like setting off fireworks at the beach on the fourth of July and smelling the smoke in the air. Jumping on the trampoline all day during quarantine right after our online classes and our mom always yelling at us to “Come inside!) because lunch was ready. Going on walks on the beach to look for crinoids, and sea glass, watching the sunrise or sunset, feeling the sand between my toes, and smelling the cool lake. Going to the beach and playing beat the waves where we would try to run past the waves without the water hitting us. Runs with my mom to the “secret beach” stopping the whole way to rate all of the huge houses that were as big as castles and saying “That one is my favorite” but we just wanted to take breaks. Going to the farmers market on Sundays and always get a burger that tastes so good shaved ice a Sierra mist. The warren dunes, climbing up to the top of them and looking over the down at the beach. Going to St joseph and riding on the carrousel that looked over the beach, and the time we got stuck on the jetski and our mom kayaked to get us not knowing that the sandbag was still on the bottom and she got to us and said “why was that so hard?” The lake house is my favorite place and I will never forget it, and that is why some of my earliest memories are there. The lake house was like a safe haven for me.