In the evenings, Jordan Balousek of Mercer Island, Washington, called the beach home.
“I went to the beach pretty much every night,” Balousek said. “Oftentimes, my friends and I sat and watched the sky. It was gorgeous.”
Located five minutes from their dorm, many cherubs flocked to Clark Street Beach after class to swim, play sports and suntan.
Balousek said she enjoyed playing soccer at the beach.
“Every night I brought my soccer ball,” Balousek said. “We usually ended up playing Rondo, which is like monkey-in-the-middle, or a full-on game. I really liked being able to hang out with my friends.”
Other cherubs went to the beach to relax and de-stress. For Talia Boren of Los Angeles, suntanning helped boost her mental health.
“After writing all day, it was a great way to reconnect with the outdoors and rejuvenate,” Boren said.
The beach was also a hotbed for cherub football games. For many cherubs, football helped them form friendships.
“Football and a whole bunch of people is, in my opinion, the best way to get to know anyone,” Ansh Bhadani of San Jose, California, said. “You don’t have many secrets in a game of football, and everyone has to collaborate.”
Many cherub beach activities occurred in Lake Michigan as well.
“Lake Michigan wasn’t as cold as I thought,” Connor Tang of Arcadia, California, said. “In the water, we went swimming, ran around and played tag. I’m glad that I found a group of guys that always wanted to go.”
Overall, Balousek said Clark Street Beach served as an inclusive space for cherubs to have fun.
“So many people went down to the beach, and no matter who was there, everybody still hung out with each other,” Balousek said. “It’s just so nice that we all got to chat about our lives while sitting in a gorgeous place.”
