Hi world! Chris here. I know this post is coming a day late so sorry about that! However, I think I have a pretty good excuse considering I spent all of yesterday evacuating from Wilmington for Hurricane Dorian. I mean I technically could have stayed because my apartments weren’t evacuating, but after my campus canceled classes for the week, leaving felt like the right thing to do.

And honestly at this point, a start of the semester evacuation is becoming a bit of a tradition. Like you can’t really say you’re a UNCW student unless you have evacuated a hurricane. (I’m only half-kidding.)

Jokes aside, these kinds of things are pretty scary when they’re happening. I love my school. And I love the town around it. I love my new apartment too. It makes me really nervous not knowing when I’m going to go back and see it. Or if it will be anything like how I left it.

To find one bright spot amidst the worry, I am super thankful I got to enjoy the beach before disaster hit. I’m not a beach girl myself (I’d rather be in the woods), but even I know that the best part about living in Wilmington is living no more than fifteen minutes from Wrightsville Beach. I mean look at it.

I took this picture last week right before the sun went down. We were just starting to hear about Hurricane Dorian, so my friend and I stopped by after class. It was going to rain that night so the air was really wet, and the clouds were starting to roll in so the sky looked so pretty.

We didn’t get to go swimming or tan because it was too late, but we still had a great time just sitting on the sand. It wasn’t super crowded, and the weather was really comfortable so we just got to relax and talk. After stressing about classes and work all day, Wrightsville is one of the best places to go unwind. (It’s also the best place to go after 6 because then parking is free.)

But Wrightsville isn’t just a place for sitting. Sometimes it’s the best place to have a dance party. Warning: don’t invite my friend Carey or she will show you up with her stellar moves pictured below.

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Other times, Wrightsville is a place to celebrate. You can go jump for joy like my girl Bri.

Driving to the south end of the island is the best place to watch the sunset. It’s my favorite thing to do when the weather gets warm after winter. We make it a girls’ trip and get some pictures for Instagram.

Even after the sun has gone down and it’s dark outside, Wrightsville is still the place to go. It looks so beautiful AND you can climb in the abandoned lifeguard towers.

Rae and Tanner made a weekend trip last year and we had so much fun just walking along the ocean at night. We were all burnt from the day, so the cool air off the water was a nice relief. And listening to the waves was the most amazing way to destress after rushing around all day. It was also fun to make Tanner give me a piggy-back-ride to the pier.

Johnnie Mercer’s Fishing Pier is almost directly in the middle of Wrightsville Beach and it’s one of my favorite stops to make anytime I’m there. It’s especially fun to go on at night because that’s when a lot of people go fishing for sharks, so if they catch anything you get to see it.

Going at night also creates a whole new element of mystery about the ocean. There’s something both spooky and amazing about hearing the water dozens of feet below you, but only being able to see darkness.

And, of course, the pier is another place for pictures.

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Until I started this blog, I wasn’t someone that took a lot of pictures or wanted my picture taken a lot. I actually used to think it was really annoying to have to stop and take pictures. It was to the point that I had to borrow some of these pictures from my friends because I never took any. However, with the approaching hurricane, I am so thankful that I do have some pictures of Wrightsville Beach now. I have so many happy memories here and I don’t want to lose any of them because some storm messed up my home away from home.

Hurricane Florence couldn’t destroy my beach, so fingers crossed that Dorian can’t either. And that this evacuation doesn’t last a whole month like it did last year. I wanna be back by the pier before October.

Wrightsville means so much to so many people and Wilmington is home for most of them. It’s a beach that’s more than a popular vacation spot. It brings people together, it houses beautiful wildlife, and it makes it a little easier to get through class knowing I can go there afterwards. Like I said, I’m not a beach girl myself, but I am a Wrightsville girl.

If you have the time, say a prayer for Wilmington and all the people there. Here’s hoping this hurricane passes us by. If not, make sure you’re staying safe out there!

P.S. With work for classes and my job, I’m going to have to cancel the YouTube channel. I was only doing that for fun, but it takes up a lot of time to edit a video. I just don’t think I can fit it into my schedule at the moment. Maybe I’ll try again later, but I’m just going to stick with my blog for right now.

To make up for that, I will try to post on my social media a lot more. Having an active online presence is a requirment for the internship I want to apply for, so I might as well start it now. If you want extra videos, pictures, or updates for the blog, give me a follow on Instagram!