This summer, I have decided to stay at college in Washington, D.C. My reasoning behind this is that I love DC, and I love being productive, but I need the fast city "vibes" for me to actually be able to continue keeping up with an active, healthy lifestyle and not falling into the sleepy lull of summer break.

Being back at my home on the shore of New Jersey would almost certainly put me into quite a rut. And although I recognize that my home in New Jersey is very quiet, there are some certain things that I will miss about experiencing my summers in New Jersey, like I have for the past 18 years of my life.

There is not a whole lot of nightlife around my town on the beach of southern New Jersey. However, the best nights are the nights where my friends and I literally made up something to do. My favorite nights are the ones where I would drive around singing the "classics" with a group of friends (by classics I mean early-to-mid 2000s) or have late night drives up and down Long Beach Island with one of my best friends, spewing secrets tears, and a whole load of other feelings.

I will miss waking up early in the morning and riding over to sit on the beach all day, napping and eventually venturing into the mirky Atlantic just to cool off from the hot summer sun. I miss knowing that at noon on the dot the ice cream men would ring their bells on top of the dunes, signaling their arrival.

Spontaneity was a virtue and my friends and I have done everything together over the past 18 years, from late night diner trips (I'm still convinced New Jersey is the only place on Earth with real diners) to working together at local restaurants, or going and taking "polar plunges" into the bay in my town at midnight. A lot of it was just waking up and doing whatever we felt like. It was amazing.

Although I know DC is where I am meant to be at this point in my life, I will miss being in New Jersey this summer, because no matter where you are or where you go, your heart will always be connected with home, even if your home is filled with wooden-splintered boardwalks, greasy food and murky ocean water.