I am counting down the days; we move to Florida in less than a month, and I couldn’t be more excited. Have you ever been to a place and felt this is home, this is where I belong? Well, that’s how I feel about Florida.

Ever since we first moved to Florida, it felt right, the warmth, nature, the beach. I felt happy there. Focusing on school became easy because to destress, all it took was a few minutes at the beach, and all your worries were gone. I can’t wait to go back and be in the place where I can fully be me and follow my dreams.

I believe everyone has that place where they belong, their dream home, and it might not be where they have always lived or grown up. I have noticed that a lot of people live in a place because they think they should, maybe their friends are there, or their job is there, or they’ve always lived there and never tried anything else. Moving to Florida made me realize I can live anywhere I want and nothing is stopping me, so why not be somewhere I love and enjoy, where I feel most myself?

I am excited to be going back to the place where I belong, where I want to be. There are so many things I can’t wait to do when I get to Florida. First thing I do is go straight to the beach and swim for hours! I miss the beach so much, especially after this long, cold winter, the hot tub warm water, the soft squeaky sand, the calming waves, the colorful sunsets.

Next, I can’t wait to go to some of my favorite restaurants, Pieology, Sweet Tomatoes, Boston Market, Cajun on the Bayou, Trip’s Diner. Oh, and fresh seafood! There are so many great restaurants in Florida that you can’t find many other places.

I can’t wait to go to the parks in Florida, to visit the beautiful lakes, tall bald cypress trees, and boardwalks through the mangroves. One of my favorite things is walking around those parks; it’s so relaxing and peaceful. Another reason I love the parks and the beaches in Florida is all the wildlife I get to see.

There are so many animals you can’t see many other places: alligators, all kinds of cranes and herons and other birds, little brown anoles, armadillos, dolphins, manatees, fish, crabs, and many other sea creatures. I love them, and I feel at home with the animals there.

There are so many dreams I have of what I want to do in Florida. I want to get a bike, I haven’t ridden a bike in years, and there’s the Pinellas trail, a long bike trail I will live near, it’s a 45-mile trail that goes up and down the whole stretch of Saint Petersburg. My dream is to get a bike and ride on that trail. Another thing I want to do is get my own kayak, so I can kayak whenever I want.

I want to snorkel again. I want to volunteer with wildlife sanctuaries and rescues in Florida. There are countless dreams I have and reasons to move back. I want to permanently call this place home and have a place where my family and friends can come visit and enjoy Florida with me, that would be so much fun.

What is the place that makes you excited about life, that gives you dreams? It’s worth discovering what that place is for you. You can do whatever you want, you can live wherever you want, so go for it.

Don’t stay in the same place you always have because you should or because it seems easy. You have one life so live it and enjoy it as much as you can. The logistics will work themselves out, but you just need to go for it and follow your dreams.