You wake up to darkness completely surrounding you.
You look over as the brightness of your clock says 5:23 am.
You don’t want to be late so you rush to put your clothes on.
You turn your radio on hoping to hear a good weather report.
You begin to make your bagel, smearing the cream cheese on as fast as you can.
You are too late.
You hear the car engine start.
You sprint out after the car.
You make it.
You hold on for life as the freezing California air blows through your hair.
You finally arrive at the one place that will never let you down.
You see only beauty here.
You can imagine yourself here for the rest of your life.
You walk down the hilly cliffside.
You see your favorite spot where you always observe.
You sit and watch wave after wave crash upon the shore.
You finally get ready and plunge into the freezing water.
And then it appears.
The one thing every person who has had the pleasure of meeting never wants to leave.
The one thing that can take you back to shore to your place of peace.
The one thing that makes you realize the sacrifices you made earlier are worth it.
All thoughts are unclouded.
All stress disappears.
All cares are absent.
A sheet of blue rises and the voice of the tide– the one thing you love most in the world– has finally arrived.
The wave crashes onto shore as your board comes to a halt.
You have found what you are looking for.
I have found a purpose.

Mallen Bischoff ’17