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And if you want to read more about life at Wake Forest University in the late nineties, you can check out my essay Bostwick 108 A: Margarita Hall.

The beach is for those moments that can only happen once; those sunsets, those storms, those vacation memories that get all fuzzy around the edges when you think of them because they’re from so long ago but they still buzz with the joy you felt when you were actually there and living them.

It was May 1998, the end of my freshman year of college, and I joined my Kappa Delta sisters and classmates at North Myrtle Beach (aka Paradise) for a week (or four days) of carousing and together time, all in our own little world. The center of that universe was a very special motel on Ocean Boulevard called The Helms.

Reflection questions:

* If you could only choose five things to have at your dream vacation, what would they be? (Post-Exams 1998 for me: friends, sunshine, late nights, the ocean, and probably seafood)

* What are those short-lived times in your life that became “peak memories” for you? How do you feel when you remember them now?

North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is home to many tribes and nations, including the Chicora, Waccamaw, Catawba, Lumbee, and Cape Fear.

Title Image: Looking south from the beach in front of the Helms. Photo by me.

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