by Jade Ruff, George campus
In 2012, I was in eighth grade and I came home to a scavenger hunt arranged by my
mom. My first thought was “what the heck is going on?” but I played along. It started with her
giving me the first clue and I went on my own to finding more, and finally last one led to the
bathtub. As I pulled the curtain back the tub was full of all kinds of swimming stuff. For example,
snorkel, new bathing suit, flippers and goggles.
I was confused yet excited to see what this was all about, and I thought it was a trip to Florida. Then I went out to my mom and she handed me an empty passport and she said, "We have to go get your picture taken. We're going to the Bahamas!"
I was totally thrilled! One because I never been out of the country, and second because I’ve never
been to clear waters. So a few months pass and were all packed going to the airport, and this
also was my first time on a plane so I was just full of excitement. We ultimately land on just this strip
of cement and we walked out of the plane; I just remember it being so hot, but bearably hot--
it wasn't humid at all.
We finally checked in and our room was right on the beach, so you know I
did what anybody would do… threw my bathing suit on and ran down to the beach to see the
beautiful water.
While we were there I did something I’ll never forget: scuba diving. This was the
best experience of my life, well, next to skydiving. Anyway, I got my gear on and jumped
in the water and started to sink down. We went down about 35ft to this beautiful coral reef.
I’ve never seen something so amazing--with all the wild life down there it’s like a whole new world
and I’m blessed I got to experience that. This trip was also all inclusive, and they had this little
shack on the beach, I swear I probably ate 500 chicken nuggets while I was there...it was crazy.
The trip was only four days long and 90% of my time there I spent in the water because I was so
amazed at the water clarity. After this trip I knew that I was meant to travel, and I’m anticipating
seeing many more places in my life. Studying abroad is my current dream and goal. I can’t wait to
see where I go next!