Last night I dreamt of the deep blue sea with highlights of green and teal, lying in the sand with my ice cold grapefruit soda. I could tell it was Oahu, Hawaii just by how the simmering sun kissed my skin. This vast ocean was nothing close to the dirty Lake Michigan I often fish on in the breezy summer mornings.

 The calming noises surround me as I watch the tide rolling in and out. I spot an exotic looking fish with yellow and blue stripes and go speeding into the water. The cold rushes up my body and I watch as a school of at least 189,786 fish go swarming into the deep. I spotted a familiar face, the actress Zendaya. Her skin glows in the morning sun and I realized I would never be quite as perfect as her. I was caught in a daze that I couldn't escape till I heard someone yell my name.

“Aloha” I hear clearly now as the sound comes rushing back to my head and I awoke from my trance. I turn around and I see a worker from the snack shack located just a few steps off the beach. He had a plate in hand with an egg bacon and cheese sandwich. I ran out of the water throwing on my sundress and grabbed the plate away. “I made fresh cookies, if you would like to try them” he stated as I took a big bite out of the sandwich. He had to be Sigmund Frued as it seemed like he had researched my brain and knew exactly what I wanted. “Yeah, of course” I responded throwing on my Nike Dunks and following him 

I heard the faint sound of Taylor Swift playing in someone's Jeep as they passed by the ocean. Just being by the water made me feel at home somewhere deep inside me. Everything about where I was made my heart warm like a blanket wrapped tightly around my body. I smiled at the bright blue sky with very few clouds so full it seemed like I could almost reach up and grab them, like a piece of sweet cotton candy that melts on my tongue.

I entered the snack shack and smelt the freshly baked cookies instantly. I raced to the counter and grabbed one straight off the hot pan burning the very tips of my fingers. I inhaled the gooey cookie as my eyes closed in delight. And when they opened again I found myself sitting on my grandmother's kitchen counter like I was once again 5 years old. I was transported back to my childhood, back to the days that everything seemed like fun and games, back when monsters under my bed were my biggest concern. I knew then I could not live in this wonderland– it was all too perfect– but I would stay here while I could, taking in all of my childhood and not wishing to grow older like my younger self once longed for. These were the perfect days. 

I hear a blaring alarm. I grab my phone and smash the snooze button. I know I will have to wake up to go to school, like every other day of my life, but just 5 more minutes could be nice…