Every summer, I return to the same beach on New York Avenue in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. Every summer, I return to the same lifeguards and badge checkers that have known me since I was a little kid. Every summer, I return to the same few families that ask me about school and remain shocked about how older I look year after year. Every summer, I leave my home in North Jersey to spend the summer working at the shore. And every summer, I learn to appreciate my time under the NJ summer sun more and more each day.
With escaping the bustle of Northern New Jersey and spending my summer days beside the Atlantic Ocean and my summer nights waiting tables, the Jersey Shore has always existed as a steadfast force in my life. Some of my greatest memories have occurred at The Stone Pony Summer Stage and sitting on the beach at night with friends.
Growing up at the Jersey Shore during the summer has helped me to build a group of friends that would have been impossible to find in my small town up north -- as the easygoing bond created with them is a direct product of the setting that the bond arose from. Spending daily beach days with the same group of people (wading in the ocean has provoked some of the best conversations) inspires a different kind of bond than that possible with high school friends.
The bond is a bit more intimate than bonds with school friends ever could be-- as you return every summer after an entire year of growth and life changes. Every summer, you return to the shore, excited to catch up and tell stories about the school year. No matter how distant you were during the offseason, it seems as though everything picks up right where it left off. These friendships persist, season after season, and as you become older, such a concept becomes increasingly special and fortunately rare.
Your Shore friends promise to make sure to make time for one another during the winter -- visit each other at school or in each other’s home towns (since you guys are all from different towns or states), and with everyone’s busy schedules it’s always hard to assure that these reunions actually do happen once the summer comes to a close. As the days become a little shorter and the nights become a little colder, sentimentality sets in -- you talk about how much you’re going to miss walks to the inlet or the bike rides to Hoffman’s.
The small amount of time allotted with your Shore friends each year grants that each two-month window is fully utilized and appreciated. The transition into each offseason is alarming, as it brutally switches from mindlessly meeting each other on the beach at 10 a.m. (and staying there until 6 p.m., of course) to having to plan a date weeks in advance to only grab a quick lunch on a weekend you’re both home from school.
My Shore friends and I utilize every breathing moment that we spend down there, from waking up to see the sunrise to walking to Strollo’s when we get out of work at night. The connection formed over lemon ice and breathtaking inlet views is beyond special, as the pressure free nature and innate simplicity of the bond is a pure product of the overall vibe given off of each summers at the Jersey Shore.
You may all come from different towns, or even states, but you rightfully connect and sincerely share the same love of the Jersey Shore and same appreciation for the great friendships and lifelong memories that it has granted you throughout the years.
