Before summer break ends, many of us will find ourselves vibing on some beach with friends and family in between working and figuring out the whole adulting thing. With that in mind, I feel that it is necessary to share some of my top beach must-haves that will ensure that you and your squad/family have a fun-filled, memorable beach day!
Beach Must-Haves
Aside from the most obvious beach essentials like a swimsuit, beach towel, and flip flops, here are some top beach essentials to have on your prep list:
Must-Have #1: Make sure you stay hydrated—WATER! When I say stay hydrated, I’m not talking about alcohol sis! Pack lots of water in a portable cooler, especially for the beach days that are extremely hot! I know us college students want to have fun and may think WATERRRR (inserts Soulja Boy meme)? That’s an L, but you know what’s even more of an L? You becoming dehydrated due to the heat and passing out on the beach during all the good vibes! So hydrate! Hydrate! Hydrate! The next Must Have is going to be a 3-in-1!
Must-Have #2: Pack a Beach Bag and include a Towel/ Beach blanket, sunscreen, and sunglasses. Though a towel tends to be one of the most obvious things people may think to pack when planning a beach day, this is also one of the most forgotten items. It would suck to be waist high in the ocean only to remember that you have no towel and now gotta air dry.
Along with a towel, my friends and I also tend to pack a beach blanket which is a big lightweight blanket that we can spread on the beach under our belongings that we don’t mind getting sandy or “dirty.” If you’d be mad that this blanket gets sandy or food on it, don’t bring it to the beach.
Lastly, sunscreen and sunglasses are important beach essentials to ensure that we, especially my melanin brothers and sisters, are protecting ourselves from the intense sun rays. Contrary to popular belief, Black people do need sunscreen! Don’t believe the lies. Protect your skin!
Must-Have #3: Bring a portable Bluetooth speaker and charger. If you and your friends are anything like my friends and me, you all love vibing to music any and everywhere, and the beach is no exception. A Bluetooth speaker allows for you and your friends to enjoy your favorite songs while relaxing on the beach.
Also, In the age of social media, my friends and I love taking pictures and videos to post on Snapchat and Instagram. Using your phone to listen to music and take dope pictures/ videos while at the beach can be a battery drainer. Bringing a portable charger will ensure your phone does not die and you’re able to capture all the memories and listen to all the faves you want on your epic beach trip!
Must-Have #4: I mentioned hydration earlier, but of course, we can’t forget about the food! Stop by a store and get some food/ snacks to enjoy on the beach. Before going to the beach with friends or family, we usually stop by a Publix close by and order a Pub Sub or grab some Publix fried chicken with chips or Hawaiian rolls to enjoy on the beach. To those states who don’t have a Publix, sorry you guys are truly missing out! Hopefully, you all have a store maybe half as great as Publix!
Now, that you got all your stuff together, there’s just one more thing that’s a MUST in making sure your squad beach day is successful. Want to know what it is? You have to make sure you and your squad come with the vibes! My squad has a great mix of personalities, and we all bring our own energy to the squad. So let me tell you all about my friends.
Meet My Squad
First, we have Ramon. Ramon is the cheerleader/ hype man of the group. Want someone to hard down celebrate with you when you get some good news or are looking good? Tell Ramon! He will record you sooo quick and say “COME ONNNNNNN” no matter who’s around. Ramon is the one to back you 100% as long as you doing what you love. I swear, he knows that when one of us wins, we ALL win! Also, Ramon loves his shows and could put you on to a good show or two. Shoutout to him for putting me on to All-American (season 2 coming soon)!
Next (in the picture skip over me), Mary is the risk taker of the group. She’s the one that’ll literally put a banana peel down on the floor of our college’s dining hall to see if you can really slip on a peel. Mary is the one that will be down to ride to Walmart at 3 AM for no good reason. She’s carefree and definitely could care less about people’s opinions. This girl is mad talented. She can draw and paint, do hair, and can even sew her own clothes! Watch out for the relaunch of her brand Oddity Apparel! So, as you can see, if she wants to do something, she’ll do it, and that’s why I ride with and for her hard.
Now, we have Tiffany, and we all know Tiff is the boujee-est (definitely not an actual word) of the group. BUT hold up, Tiff isn’t boujee in that, she can’t vibe with people. She just knows what she wants and what she won’t tolerate. Tiff definitely knows how to get the most out of her dollar, and she’s quick to hit up sales, use apps/ reward points, promotions, etc. Oh, and I can’t forget that Tiff is the most photogenic female I know. Sis knows how to snap up.
Last but not least, Lamar is the singer/performer/actor of the group. This man will start singing all loud anywhere we go, and he got some moves to go with it. Lamar is my right hand. Now I am a lefty, and we all know that lefthanded people are creative individuals, but we also need help to bring our vision to life. Lamar is the man for that. He hears my complicated ideas and is like “all right bet let’s do it.” We have made some of the best posters with our joint ideas and creativity. Lamar loves his hats, but he also loves wearing all black, his Sperry’s and now his Crocs just as much.
All my friends bring good vibes and laughter to my life, and we have so many memories that we can look back on in pictures and videos from different moves we’ve made, including beach days.
Hopefully, these four must-have items are present on your next visit to the beach along with your squad. Remember, beach days are a great way to “treat yo self”. Wanna know other ways to keep a self-care state mind? Check out my article on 6 Self-Care Practices for the Mind.
In the comments below, let me know what you think! Also, let me know of some beach must-haves you and your squad take on your beach trips! Thanks for reading! Let’s continue to “Grow through Life together!”
