Thank you Bermuda | The trip that changed me

Bermuda Changed Me.

This past summer, I went on an adventure with my best friend to Bermuda, and I have never been the same. I came back more golden, literally and figuratively. Experiencing another country, the most beautiful beaches I've ever been to, and having epiphany after epiphany while sunbathing in secluded coves, I had to change.
First let’s start by stating that the trip to Bermuda was a spur of the moment type of thing. We were deciding on the place to watch THE FIGHT OF ALL TIME, the fight where my #1, all time favorite mma fighter, Jon Jones was going to come back to the UFC and fight for his rightful belt. He WHOOPED Cormier's ass!!! (I am a HUGE mma fan, and I will be working on future mma posts 😊.) So let’s thank Jon Jones and Cormier for being the reason that I ended up taking the most amazing, self revealing and blessed trip that I have taken so far.
After purchasing the flight tickets with my Visa Freedom credit card points (YASSS those points actually work), booking our Airbnb, and creating the most detailed itinerary, we ended up in Bermuda .

Side note:
I did so much fucking research it ain't even funny. I am a low key, actually, a high key nerd, so researching the entire island and creating a schedule was pretty fun. Bermuda was not going to defeat me, and I was determined to conquer it, well conquer myself in paradise.

BERMUDA IS PARADISE
Bermuda has the most beautiful beaches and coves that I have ever seen. There is so much beauty to see that we planned out our days from 7am to 9pm to make sure we saw it all. Woke up, ate an apple and banana for breakfast (Bermuda is expensive AF, everything was about triple the price of what it would cost in the US. It made my best friend and I eat only what was absolutely necessary for energy), and walked about 10 minutes to the completely secluded coves. Check out the beauty in the photography below.
After lunch we explored some more, checked out Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, explored Crystal Cave, and explored some more local beaches. Of course we had to indulge and check out The Swizzle Inn. The Rum Swizzle was delicious, and much needed after walking 6 miles just to get to the restaurant (the bus never passed as we waited at the bus stop -_-). We also ate at Flanagan's Irish Pub. That was one of the best nights that we spent in Bermuda.

THE BAD
Alright guys, so even in this fairy tale vacation, bad shit still happened. And I’m grateful it did. I learned even more, and every circumstance made me discover another part of myself that I didn’t even know existed.
So ::clears throat:: after spending about 2 hours enjoying the gorgeous Horseshoe Bay and its crystal clear water, my best friend and I decided to sunbath on the pink sand. I’m laid out, facing down, feeling the sun rays beaming down on my shoulders, lower back and legs, when the unimaginable thing happens..
A gust of wind lifted an 8 ft beach umbrella from the sand, causing it to fly across in the air, heading directly to my section, and it fuckin hit my back so hard! That shit landed on me! What kind of freak accident is this first of all, and who does this shit even happen to?! ME! ☹ The good news, it only left me with about a very sore and bloody 3 inch line scrapped across my back. I got up, people were all looking at me, concerned and in awe, asking me if I’m ok, lifeguard ran to me asking if I’m ok, and all I did was walk straight into the water, all while thinking in my head, “DO. NOT. CRY”. I washed off all of the sand that had covered my entire body, and almost felt as if the humiliation that overpowered my body had washed off as well. I was going to be ok.
Yup that shit really happened to me, and I’ll never forget it. BTW all I got from the company renting out the beach umbrellas was a mango daquiri and a bandaid. I ended up staying for about an hour with teary eyes, and left to the cove next door.
My best friend and I also had an encounter with possibly a drunk, or a bum on some drugs or some shit at the bus station, and I saw evil in his eyes. I'm not about to get religious, but evil was around us at that moment and I felt it. Nothing major happened and I’m so grateful for that.

THE GOOD
The following day after the crazy drunk guy encounter, something amazing and beautiful happened. I encountered a woman at Crystal Caves (that place is ahhhmaaazing!), and she said something that will always stick to me "It doesn't only take a village to raise a child, it takes all of Bermuda to raise a child". I could feel her peaceful vibes, a warmth only felt from a mother, I sensed so much good in her heart. Fast forward 4 hours later having traveled across the island to pick up our luggage from the airbnb, when panic hit us. We couldn't get a taxi, or a bus and our flight was leaving exactly in an hour and a half. I started to pray to God, begging to send a taxi so we wouldn't miss our flight. All of a sudden, we flagged a taxi down, taxi turns around to come to us, and it was the woman from Crystal Caves! We spoke all the way to the airport, with so much gratitude, faith and love in my heart. We told her about the scary encounter with the man the night before, and everything that she said to us made me feel that God's presence was closer than ever.
I saw good everywhere, especially in the people. Walking everywhere made it possible for me to experience Bermuda in a more intimate level. (It also gave me shin splints, amazing calves, and got me fit AF). I was able to have beautiful conversations with locals, and saw first hand how loving and friendly everyone was with one another. I knew God was with me during this trip. I saw so much peace, humility, compassion, hard work, hospitality, friendship, and most of all LOVE.

My best friend and I say that we conquered Bermuda, but in reality, we conquered ourselves. We depended on ourselves to be able to enjoy everything that we planned on experiencing, making sure we stayed within our budget, walked 18 gruesome miles, and stayed safe and secure. We had a fucking blast! I came back ready to conquer anything that gets in my way, determined to succeed in all of the projects that I'm so passionate about, especially Steemit :) , and ready to kick my old bad habits to the curb. I came back feeling different, with an immense sense of gratitude and love for the world. Experiencing first hand the local culture, the beauty not found at resorts, and the most gorgeous beaches ever, it's all made me want to keep traveling, keep exploring. As I explore the outside world, I explore myself and discover how powerful I truly am in creating the life that I want to live.
Perhaps you can say I needed this to grow, and fate took me to the place where I would.