For the past five years, I have made it my life’s work to become the best beach bum I can possibly be. Living in Seattle doesn’t help my cause. Neither does working at a windowless steakhouse. Neither did attending graduate school or taking up CrossFit or spending half my salary one year on clothes and shoes at Nordstrom. All that aside, every time I leave my hometown, I head directly for a place that will help me accomplish what has become a major part of my American dream. I love everything about the beach and everything that a day in the beach entails – from the sand to the surf to the adorable men to the kites to the sand that gets stuck in dreadlocked hair. It’s all amazing and irreplaceable, something that I always turn back to. The past month has been a strong reminder of why and how much I love being a part of a beach community, and Bali is absolutely a place I see myself ending up down the road (early retirement style, that is).
Given all the work I’ve put into my beach-sitting career – and against all the aforementioned odds working against me – I was thrilled to receive this little piece of recognition from a friend via email this afternoon. It’s easily my most cherished diploma / award / whatever I have ever received and will likely find a spot on my wall before my BA or Masters diploma ever do. Finally, a little recognition for years of hard work picking up freckles, combing through dreadlocks, and memorizing the tide like it’s my job (because someday, hopefully, it will be).
In case you were wondering (I certainly was), here is the unofficially official definition of a “Beachcomber”: [n] 1) A person who spends every waking moment of his or her life at the beach. 2) He or she is usually very tan, have lots of sunburns, or many freckles. 3) He or she usually own a sun hat and wears it to the beach often. 4) If he or she is not tan, he or she is always slabbing on lots of sunscreen, especially on his or her face. 5) When not in the water, he or she is usually eating, playing with the sand, or trying hard to earn a tan.
Which pretty much hits the proverbial nail right on the head. Apparently nobody does it better than me. I am a winner at life.
[Note from editor: originally published at Itinerant Brooke]
