Summer is my favorite time of the year. I love how the sun stays out so much later and how much warmer it feels on my skin. For me, the best months of the year are June-September. Ever since I was little, I couldn’t wait for summer to arrive. I would constantly ask my mom how many more months until I get to stay out and play later or when it finally wouldn’t get dark at 4pm. My favorite thing to do during the summer is spend the day at the beach. I love everything about it. The warm sand, bright sun, the tan lines I get after, and especially the ocean. To be honest, if I could, I would stay in the ocean forever. 

Since I was born, my family and I have gone to the same beach. It’s a place very different from the Jersey Shore, and a place not many people from New Jersey have even heard of. This place is a small island off of Long Island, New York called Fire Island and it will always be my favorite place. It's where I learned to swim and ride a bike. It's where I celebrated all my birthdays growing up. Fire Island has always been so special to me. It's the kind of place where everyone knows each other and you can walk around without a worry in the world. It also has the most beautiful sunsets you could ever imagine. Along the bay, the sky lights up each night with various shades of pinks, oranges, and blues. These have always been my favorite sunsets.  

On Fire Island, the best address was 51 Elm Walk. That's the address of my grandma's house that had been in my family since the 1960s. It’s where I have so many memories of family dinners and baking chocolate chip cookies with my grandma. My favorite part of the house was always it's perfect distance from the beach. Close enough that I could open the window while I was going to sleep and hear the waves crashing in the distance, but just far enough where it wasn’t too lound and would put me right to sleep. I miss that about the house the most. 

This summer marks three years since my family had to sell 51 Elm. I just hope the new people in the house get to celebrate their birthdays in the dining room, listen to the waves crashing when they are going to sleep, and especially watch the best sunsets on the bay. I hope that future families inside 51 Elm will get to learn why I call it my favorite place.