Lately I've been looking at life in an objective way, trying to attribute it to some inanimate object like a rollercoaster or even a box of chocolates, however I have come to the decision that Life is a Beach. Not in the highly ironicised way that plays off the word “b*tch”, but in the literal definition; seashells, sand dollars, seagulls, and all. I like to romanticize this interpretation- as imagining myself picking up sea glass as one does with life experiences. Every tragedy or celebration is one more piece of sea glass to add to the mural that becomes a portrait of who you are. 

I've been comparing myself to my friends recently, it seems like my satchel, full of the most polished sea glass, is fuller than my peers, and is weighing me down. My friends go about life with a certain lightness to them, they haven't lived through as many deaths, betrayals, or abuse. They have the brightest and happiest murals. I am collecting the darkest emerald green glass- they are adding to their sun, while I am stuck gluing down pieces of the shadows. I sound as if I lack empathy for their plights- I don't, I just envy their innocence, their family structure, their outlooks.

 Viewing life as a Beach, however, has given me a better perspective. Every occurrence gives me a little more nuance, more to know, more maturity. Lately my life has been a mess, and I keep picking up new pieces of sea glass, blue, green, white, the variety of shades and level of polish changing with each experience. More to add to my mural, the good, the bad, and the unnecessary. Some being shading or contour, others being pivotal objects that shape who I am, and what the mural shows. Every gust of wind and wave tussles the glass and changes the mural. Changes who I am. 

I am starting to see what my mural will look like, who I am becoming. There are really bright parts that shine and sparkle in the sun, but they wouldn't shine half as bright, if the dark parts didn't contrast them. While I resent the maturity I have been forced to reckon with, I am beginning to look upon the mural with a smile. I see myself as kind, mature, caring, and my experiences have shaped that part of me.

Therefore, life's a beach!