You may know the Jersey Shore from the popular reality TV show, but I know it as home. It’s a place with a pretty crazy reputation, but for me, it’s always just been my same old, slightly boring hometown. I’m not exactly sure when I realized I lived somewhere special, but it might have been the first time I watched a camera crew chase Snooki down the boardwalk. I was probably about eight or nine years old, sitting with my parents, eating a peaceful dinner, when the cast of Jersey Shore strolled by, followed by their usual cloud of drunken chaos. I remember my parents being rather disgruntled with the whole scene, accusing them of not even being real New Jerseyans. For many people all across the country, the TV show was the only exposure they had to my town, which certainly didn’t give it the best reputation. To this day, when I tell people where I’m from, they’re always so interested to know what it’s like living there. (They also ask if I know Snooki… I’ll get into that later.) So, I’m going to let you all in on what it’s really like living on the Jersey Shore, from a real-life local.
When I think of home, the thing that I think of first is the beach. My entire life, I have spent my summers in Seaside, relaxing in the sand and playing in the ocean. Some of my best memories with friends and family have been made on the beach, digging for sand crabs, watching the sunrise and boogie boarding to my heart’s content. If I had to pick my favorite place in the world, this beach would probably be it. A lot of people like our beaches, so a lot of people go on vacation there. We call these vacationers “bennies,” and they normally can be characterized by their strong New York accents and bold fashion choice to wear socks with sandals. So yes, your favorite cast members are really just glorified bennies to me — the bennies who leave their trash on the beach are my personal sworn enemies — but I am grateful for the rest of them who support our local businesses, and love my home as much as I do.
If the beach is my favorite thing about home, my least favorite would be the winters. It gets pretty cold, and we get a good snowstorm every once in a while. Everyone loves a good “snow day” off from school. We’re also not too far from NYC, which is always a magical place to be in the winter. My issue is after the holidays, because at that point it’s not only freezing, but there’s also nothing to do. The usual liveliness of my beach town is gone and spring is months away. This time of year is definitely what made me want to escape to Florida for school, but I would still argue that the summers make up for it.
I know a lot of people love the Jersey Shore, for reasons way different than my own, and that’s okay. I suppose I just want people to know that it’s more than what it looks like on the TV show. For me, it’s a place of fond childhood memories, togetherness, nature and really good bagel stores. I hope now you can appreciate my town as much as I do. And if you’re dying to know…no, I’ve never met Snooki. But apparently, she did move in around the corner from me. I’ll walk my dog past her house and report back after Winter Break.