Election Day

Student

November 3, 2020. A not so ordinary Tuesday filled with school anxiety, covid anxiety, and election anxiety. My three roommates and I had cast our ballots, received our stickers, and headed home to our small apartment built for two but holding four of us. It was warm that day, I recall, and at some point one of our more spontaneous friends said, “We need to go to the beach.” No one had finished their work for the day but we were somehow all on Highway 17 within 10 minutes of the idea. Windows down and hair flying everywhere as we blasted music to stop anxious thoughts from driving us mad. With our masks on and voting stickers stuck to our bikini tops we walked down the wooden steps to the sand. It was cooler there but the sun was out and we were overjoyed to be somewhere different. We all sprinted into the ocean, and dove into the salty Santa Cruz waves. We swam for hours as the sun began to set. Makeup ran down our faces as we smiled ear to ear. There’s an unspoken feeling of freedom being in an ocean. No one checked their phones until we were home. This is a moment I will always remember during a time that no one wanted to remember. I couldn’t be more thankful for the unfortunate events that led to me having some of the most memorable moments of my college life.