It’s never too late.

Max Patch Summit

“For what it’s worth: it’s never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you’re proud of. If you find that you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start all over again.”-The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Photo Friday: The Memory Of A Beach Sunrise.

Normally, I prefer the sunset over the sunrise. However, I think that is primarily because I’m a college student and so nothing feels worth waking up at 5 or 6am to see. Though I love all of nature’s little wonders that I realize so many of us take for granted on a day-to-day basis (myself included), I was never really a sunrise person…until last summer.

During one weekend in July last year, I went to Myrtle Beach to stay with my friend, Stephanie, for a few days. Stephanie and I met during our freshman year at Wofford, and even though we both left Wofford after our freshman year, we’ve stayed in touch, which means a lot. Anyway, when I went to Myrtle Beach to stay with Stephanie, I didn’t really know what the weekend would hold. I just knew that we’d have tons of tun because both of us are weird, but in the best way possible. Is there any other way to be really?

Anyway, on Friday night of the trip, Stephanie said that she had always wanted to see the sunrise at the beach. Since I had never seen the sunrise (other than times when I’ve had to catch an early flight for a trip), much less the sunrise at the beach, I was excited for something new. I knew before Stephanie and I went to sleep the night before that I’d be the one waking her up at 6am. I had checked the sunrise/sunset schedule, and sunrise was set for 6:23 the next morning. Since Stephanie’s apartment wasn’t far from the beach, we figured that we’d wake up at 6am and just head out. Even though I’m normally not a morning person, I’m much more of a morning person if I’m going somewhere or have plans that require being up early (that aren’t academic in nature). Therefore, when my alarm went off at 6am, though it took me a little time to wake up, once I was up, I was ready to go. Stephanie, on the other hand, was not as easy to wake up. Though I went to tell her to wake up once I was up, when I went back to her room 10 minutes later, she was asleep with every single light on. I told her we had to leave if we were going to see the sunrise, and she looked at me as if I had woken her up from the best sleep of her life. Now that I think back on it, I probably had.

Once we got to the beach, the sun hadn’t risen yet, but the sky had a sense of light to it than only makes sense if the sun is about to rise. I was worried we had missed it. However, Stephanie and I walked down towards the pier anyway so that we could get to best view of the sunrise. I still remember standing there waiting for the sun to come up, and since we were watching it from shore, it was almost as if the sun had just come straight up out of the water. The entire process of the sunrise lasted only a few minutes, but it was truly one of the most amazing sights I’ve seen in quite a while.

I took so many pictures that morning. I wanted the experience to be fully documented so that I could relive it later. Even now, looking back on all the photos, I smile and think of how tired we were when we were walking down the beach towards the sunrise. However, I also remember just how mesmerized we were by the simple act of watching the sun rise, watching a new day begin. The above photo is one of my favorites, partly because of the way that I captured the bird in the photo, who has dipped down for its morning breakfast of fresh fish. Stephanie and I had our own morning breakfast that day as well. We decided to go to Waffle House, and it’s the first time I had ever been to Waffle House around 7 in the morning. For some reason, Waffle House tastes better early in the morning. I don’t know why, but it just does. Trust me.

I think that morning of seeing my first beach sunrise is one that I will never forget. If you ever have the chance to see the sunrise while at the beach, do it. It is so worth it, even if you’re not too much of a morning person. If you need a reward of Waffle House afterwards, go for it. There’s nothing wrong with having your cake and eating it too!