Last Hours in Costa Rica & What I Learned
On my last day before flying out, I soaked up the sun at the beach one last time with fresh coconut water. Then after lunch, we journeyed back to San Jose for one last group dinner.
Anyone who knows me knows that this is my happiness. Just add in a mango and it would be perfect
We had a visitor during lunch
Views from the ride back to San Jose
I learned so many life lessons on this trip. Here’s what stuck with me:
Just when you think the rain will never stop and the storm will last forever… you get a rainbow. All storms run out of rain eventually. Sometimes storms come to clear your path and show you something even more beautiful on the other side that you could have never imagined. Costa Rica was my rainbow after the storm that was 2023.
What hiking taught me:
The toughest roads lead to the most beautiful destinations. Hiking through miles of mud, slippery rocks, and steep inclines in the rainforest led me to blue lagoons and waterfalls.
Hiking also taught me to take everything in life literally one step at a time.
On those hikes, things like this ran through my mind: “what am I doing here?”, “can I really do this?”, “will I keep up?”, “can I finish this hike?”. To combat those thoughts, I told myself “if you think you’re going to slip and fall, then you will, but if you think you’re going to make it, then you will”. I realized that your relationship with yourself is the most important one that you’ll have in life, and how you talk to yourself is everything. It all starts with you.
Walking across hanging bridges, zip lining, and doing the free fall jump taught me-you can do hard things. Put yourself in uncomfortable or challenging situations and then you’ll see what you’re made of. You can do anything as long as you put your mind to it.
Feel the fear and do it anyway. Do the things in life that scare you the most. Do the things you don’t think you can do. They are always the most worth it.
Don’t wait for anyone or anything to live the life you’ve imagined. Live life on your own terms even if it doesn’t make sense to others.
Can’t help but include this one- Pura Vida! Enjoy life. After all, we’re only here for a short time.
I hope to take all of these lessons I learned into my next chapter in life. I can only hope that the rest of 2024 will be half as incredible as this trip. Pura Vida!