july 25, 2029 -- by carissa

Rachel and I both wrote different takes on the same idea of our futures, go read hers its pretty sick


It is July 25, 2029. I'm standing on the shores of Santa Barbara, California, smiling out at the waves. It is my twenty-sixth birthday and I'm standing somewhere I never thought I would get to. I just graduated med school and I'm well on my way to becoming a practicing psychiatrist, my dream for over ten years. I close my eyes and breathe in. The smell of salt welcomes me. I feel damp sea spray hit my arms. My feet in the sand, I open my eyes again to take in the sunset. All of my favorite colors. The beach has been my true home for as long as I can remember. Ten years ago on this date I was getting ready to enter my junior year of high school, and the hell that awaited. I wish I could go back and tell myself all the struggle was worth it, your GPA will take you to the college of your dreams. I hear sliding glass open but I don't turn around. The love of my life is home from work. He walks up next to me and wishes me a happy birthday, the third year he's done so, with many more to come. I smile. Our little dog runs out of the door and a few steps into the sea. I guess the ocean is her home, too. The sunset is fading now, and the moon is replacing it. I feel nothing but freedom, and excitement for this life I've been given. I turn around to look at our house with its glass windows, the reflection of the full moon, in all of her beauty, bouncing back at me. My love grabs my hand and we cross the threshold into the house. I'm the best kind of exhausted as I prepare myself for another day of love, excitement and happiness. I am home.

(not my picture)