15 Signs You Went To College By The Beach

“The cure for anything is saltwater- sweat, tears, or the sea.” And of course, you like to follow the latter of that. When you’re deciding where you want to go to college many things are important. You have to think about the size of your school, if they have your major, if they have a football team, and of course if their cafeteria food is any good. But one thing that is almost always a deciding factor is location. And let me tell you, you picked the right place if you’re within walking distance of the ocean. There are a few things that are a dead giveaway to whether you are or aren’t a total beach bum who attended college near the beach. Here’s 15 signs to prove that.

1. You have wild tan lines.

Remember that super strappy top that you thought was absolutely adorable? And those scalloped bottoms that make your butt look great? Or even that one-piece that has a super low cut back but was perfect because it was high waisted? They were all great ideas, until the tan lines started coming in. Swimsuit tan lines or flip flop tan lines; they can get a little wild, but the worst has got to be finding out you wore your sunglasses too long.

2. You find sand… EVERYWHERE.

You haven’t even been to the beach in two whole months, but you finally got around to cleaning out your bags and you’re now walking around your house stepping on grains of sand. You’ve cleaned your car out 10 times, but you’re still finding sand. You’ve even taken 6 showers, but it’s still there. You can’t get away from it, you can’t get rid of it, but you don’t mind too much.

3. You bikini shop year round.

Literally. Bikinis are great to find during the summer, but it’s even better when you wait until December and all the surf shops and mini markets have them for 50% off. Who doesn’t love half-priced things, especially when you’re a broke college kid.

4. You love being tan.

I mean, like you’re ready for a full mental breakdown when your skin gets pale. As the year moves along and it slowly gets colder for you, you watch your tan begin to fade. You contemplate going to a tanning salon but your mom always warned you about how bad they are for your skin, so you wait it out until next season. But, to be honest, there’s nothing better than watching how dark your skin gets when it warms up, it’s almost a competition to get darker than the year before.

5. You’re pretty much an expert on how much sun screen you can get away with.

You know how much sunscreen to use; you also know the least amount you can get away with until you’re burnt like a lobster. You know the best types of sunscreens, and the ones that don’t smell like sunscreen, and of course which ones give you the best glow.

6. You have a specific parking spot at the beach.

Come on, you spend all year here. That means eventually you’re going to have to find a public beach access point that is far enough off the path that none of the tourists make it down there. Why pay for parking when you don’t have to? And once you find your parking spot, you get extremely offended if anyone parks there.

7. You’ve ran out of all of the beachy captions.

You’ve used them all; the shark week ones, the sandy toes ones, the salt ones. Name a beach quote off of Pinterest and you posted it 10 days ago.

8. Your hair is always in beach curls.

You don’t remember what your hair looks like when it isn’t full of salty water and sand. But no one else remembers either, this is basically your natural hair, and if it’s not then it definitely should be.

9. You can live off of watermelon and seafood.

This is what you eat when you’re by the water. All of the beach restaurants offer some form of crab, fish, or shrimp. And you won’t be caught on the beach without watermelon in your hand, in your cooler, or in your cup. You know you have to stay hydrated and I mean, the word water is in watermelon so that should do the trick.

10. You can’t get out of bed for 8am classes but can watch a sunrise.

You make sure to watch a sunrise at least twice a semester. Sometimes it’s hard to wake up to watch and your friend has to drag you out of bed to make it, but you realize as soon as you’re there it is so worth it. Those 8am’s aren’t as magical as a sunrise is and you manage to sleep through a few of them.

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11. Shoes tend to be an after thought.

You hate wearing shoes, which means that sometimes you’ll forget to pack them; you forget to wear them, you forget that they’re required in many places. You’d rather be barefoot no matter where you are.

12. You laugh at your mainland friends who think pools compare.

One of the freshman girls in your sorority is from Colorado and she talks about how she spent all summer by her pool as if it’s the best thing ever. There’s a high you get from the crashing of waves and the smell of salt water that you just know a pool can’t compare to.

13. You don’t understand the hype of beach week.

Beach week is a big deal during spring break where everyone goes on vacation to the beach. Adults take off work, kids miss school, everyone heads towards you. You’ll never understand it because you live on the beach, it’s a vacation any time you need it.

14. You can’t stand the one time know-it-all tourists.

People show up and try to give you advice, how to park your car, where to eat, what to do, the best place to sit. It’s those touristy folk who think they know everything, yet you’ve been living here the last four years and they’ve been here a week. You don’t have to buy a sticker and put it on your car to know that you know the ropes.

15. You’ve been sad since you realized graduation means you can’t wake up and hit the beach everyday.

Every day the last four years, you’ve been able to come to the beach if you need to. And with graduation coming up you’ve been trying really hard to find a place to move on after this with your new degree, and you’ve realized nothing compares to this little home you’ve built yourself. Part of you will always be at the sea.