My stomach dropped like the first decent of a rollercoaster and my face turned a light shade of red. We were off. The plane took off, as I got ready to experience the most influential vacation of my young life. Although the trip there was going to be time consuming, and probably going to bore me to death, but I knew that I had to go through the agony to get to the serenity. But I knew it was going to be worth it. It was 5 in the morning and my eye lids started getting heavy. I listened to some soothing music and fell asleep in a matter of seconds in the most uncomfortable seat I could possibly be in. I woke up and looked at my watch and it said a quarter to nine. I was asleep for almost four hours. I thought to myself “But I just fell asleep a couple minutes ago?” Those were the quickest four hours I had ever experienced. I woke up with an empty rumbling stomach. Luckily I brought enough sandwiches and snacks to feed the Brady bunch. Surprisingly the food was no match for my stomach, and I emptied my bag of snacks within an hour. Of course eating all of that food gave me the urge to sleep again, so soon after I feel asleep, yet again. I woke up to frequent vibrations in my pocket. We finally landed in Puerto Rico, and my phone finally had a signal. I looked at my clock and it said 12 o’clock, but on my phone it said 11 o’clock. My parents soon explained to me that Puerto Rico is in a different time zone, and that my phone automatically sets on its own.

The shuttle whipped us through the city faster than the food disappeared thanksgiving dinner and took us within walking distance to the hotel, but the walk to the hotel room felt like an eternity. The wind grazed my face, and the sun scorched as I looked up at the sky. This was the weather I would be experiencing all week, 80s and sunny. It was hard to believe that I just came from a place that had snow on the ground and id be lucky do see a glimpse of the sun through the gloomy clouds. The cold and the snow to the sun and the sand. We arrived and the place was like a paradise, water fountains everywhere and palm trees guiding us to the entrance. We got to the room and all clasped on our beds. This was the way we were going to be spending our weekend, with relaxation.

The sun was shining down on me, harder than I had ever felt it. I could feel my face already taking in a slight burn, as I floated face up in the pool. I closed my eyes, and listened to the Bob Marley music play on the loud speaker, and I zoned out all of the kids paying in the pool and on the water slide, and my mind drifted away just as my body did as I floated continuously in a place that was just about as close to heaven as I have ever experienced. My father called me over and handed me tall glass of a pina colada. He was bumming by the beach. As I sipped on the fruity, milky beverage as my skin started to burn like a hamburger left on the grill to long, but I didn’t mind.

Rain dripped on my forehead as me and my family reached the top of the rain forest. It was a marvelous sight. The scenery overwhelmed me. I could see mountains from hundreds of miles away. The trees that surrounded me were the tallest I have ever seen. The different arias of plants and colorful frogs and creatures were like no other. I had never cared so much about nature. I enjoyed the shade the rainforest gave me from the scorching sun. This was the only break I got from my skin getting roasted I had seen all week. By this point I was already black, and fit in with the average Puerto Rican civilian. I relaxed in took in every detail of the rainforest as everybody snapped photos. I didn’t need a camera because I knew these images would never escape my head. Plus I was sure that my mother wouldn’t fail the snap a photo of everything we walked by.

I lay on my face as a young Puerto Rican woman massaged just about every knot and tension in my body. So many thoughts went through my head. “Is this wonderful week almost over?”. Was that possible? Was it time to go? Was it really over? Somehow it was. Even though I would soon be leaving, I realized how grateful I was for this well needed vacation. The woman made my whole body limber, and as I stood up I felt just about as loose as I ever had. I hopped into the hot tub, and the water made my skin tingle. The steam smacked me in the face like Ray Lewis in his prime. I never wanted to leave. As unhealthy that would be, I truly didn’t.