I never thought I would be delighted by the smell of rotting kelp.
I grew up near the ocean. Not too close, but close enough that we could get there in an hour by car. Close enough that it shaped my experience growing up, and close enough for me to adore and become bonded to nearly every aspect of the beach and the ocean.
And then... I moved away. Just like that, a 20-something year old version of myself severed my ties to the sea for the foreseeable future. Sometimes I mourn that decision, and often I wonder how my life would've been different had I stayed coastal.
After 5 years of living in the desert, I finally got to visit the sea again. It was surprisingly emotional and at times challenging. My joy in being there was shadowed by the knowledge that I only had two days to spend before being apart for some indefinite future length.
I wept on the beach. And I swam, and sat, and watched. I smelled the ocean water and the sunscreen on my skin and the rotting kelp on the beach. A smell I missed so much.
This is my love letter to the sea, which I hope I get to visit and photograph many, many more times. Perhaps we'll be reunited someday.
