Kaylee Thomas is a senior at Hershey High School, and she has been going to Hershey since first grade.

Her family has been going on a beach trip every year with her aunts’ family; however, last summer they did not due to all the kids growing up and not having time.

“I’m sad that we don’t get to go to the beach anymore, but it was fun while it lasted,” said Thomas.

Thomas was eight years old when her family took a beach trip to Long Beach Island, New Jersey. She vividly remembers renting bikes and biking everywhere they went for the entirety of the trip and loved being able to anywhere with a bike. She loved spending a week at the beach because it felt like living a week in the life of a person who lives there full time.  

“I am in love with the beach, and it shows the joy on my face and how I really felt,” Thomas described how the photo is one of her favorites.

She plans on taking a beach trip with her kids and family every summer when she is older because the beach is such a pure place to be. Thomas feels that she has matured as a person since this photo was taken, but still feels she is the same joyous person that loves the beach and the summer.