This summer, I finally got to do it all. During my high school years, most of the people I knew were hopping on airplanes to enjoy picture-perfect vacations with their families. Although I appreciated going to the beach and the mountains each year with my family, I had never gotten to experience a tropical getaway, or even an airplane ride. July 30, 2016 it finally happened. Passport in hand, boyfriend by my side and sickening excitement swirling in my stomach, I hopped on an airplane (well, two of them) and headed to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Never having been through the "true" traveling process, I had no idea what to expect. For some reason, I had anticipated that flying would be an adventure, but I quickly learned that it involves a lot of waiting, cramping and sleeping. The resort was stunning. Tropical green plants filled the walkways, native animals scurried along the forest edge and the ocean was the clear blue that I had only ever seen in the movies. I assumed our trip would be filled with every day tanning on the beach, drinking fruity beverages (which is was), but I never guessed the other amazing experiences I would have. WE WENT SCUBA DIVING. I look at my boyfriend and say this about three times a week now. The fact that I went under the ocean, touched the bottom and obtained oxygen through a tank still feels unreal. I didn't want to do it. The fear of the deep ocean and the thought of not being able to breathe normally almost kept me away from having one of the best experiences of my life. We saw incredible things that I thought only National Geographic photographers got to experience. I never thought that a sea turtle could be so majestic. To me, they are like the angels of the sea, softly swimming through the water. We saw fish of every color in the rainbow and beyond. We swam through a cave that was filled with a school of yellow fish, parting ever so gently as we kicked softly past them. This scuba diving adventure taught me a lot about life in just three hours. I don't think I will ever let my fear of doing something overcome my ability to do whatever it might be. If I had never gotten into that gear and flipped off that boat backwards, I would have never seen this other world. Being under the ocean is like being on another planet. There is an incredible silence that only the ocean can hold. Yet, there was the amazing sound of the ocean's strong current all around me, flowing past me and through my body at the same time. I'm telling you, if you have the opportunity to do something, no matter how afraid you are, you need to do it. You will never regret taking the opportunity to have an experience. The last day of our vacation contained the most fun we had all week. We were shuttled to a remote place in the Mayan jungle. When we arrived, we were each assigned a 4-wheeler, which soon became the best part of the trip. My boyfriend being the driver, we spent most of the trip ripping through mud puddles and flying over bumps, resulting in me screaming but thoroughly enjoying the ride. At our first stop, we geared up to go zip-lining. This was something else I had never done before, and having a fear of heights, I was not ready. Everyone began to climb the ladder to the platform where they were pushed off and sent flying through the forest. My turn came, and instead of feeling afraid, I was instantly filled with an overwhelming excited. I was zipping through the trees, high above the ground, screaming and laughing all the way to the end. After this, we zipped lined into a cave. Yes, a cave. When I looked down into it, I could see nothing but darkness. I nervously walked down to the platform, was quickly hooked up and then pushed into that darkness. Screaming, again, I zipped into the cave, splashing into the cool water at the bottom. From here, we snorkeled in a separate part of the cave, ducking under stalactites and swimming over stalagmites looming below us. I learned from this vacation not only to take advantage of opportunity, but also to always try to live in the moment. The nice thing about vacations is that time seems to fade away while you're enjoying whatever it is that you're doing. What if we applied that theory to our everyday lives?
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hi! i'm bradania - lover of coffee, plants, adventure & life // thanks for visiting!
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