"BE OPEN! LET LIFE SHOW YOU WHERE TO GO..."

...and have a wonderful adventure, my little traveler,” said Mama as she hugged me good-bye at the airport yesterday.

Travel went like this: meaningful goodbye above, reading this awesome book my dad got for me (history! Love! BLOOD!), JFK, half a sleeping pill, blessed sleep, end of Wolverine, putting on make-up like a ninja in a dark tube hurtling 600/mph, landing, texting, cabbing, hotel! Hotel bar!

Alex Camera, Stella & I prepare for the Jellyfish

I met Stella & her crew by 10p ("YONKS!!!!!!") and the bulk of us piled into a huge van to Old San Juan. Old San Juan is so beautiful and historic looking, especially because of the cobble stone streets, which, WATCH OUT!, have the occasional deeeeep hole you can step in and potentially break your ankle but then you hop out of it with the grace of a ninja/dancer because you are a ninja/dancer. At least I am. 

Playing dead

Old San Juan went like this: jellyfish shots for the whole crew (a beautiful and painstakingly constructed shot glass of tons of rum, layered in red, blue, green with a dribble of Baileys on top that Yes! Made it look like a jellyfish! You drink the whole thing from the bottom of the shot glass with a straw- I thought to get the jellyfish moving effect, which really does happen, but it’s more so to keep for burning your face off because they light the thing on fire right before you drink it. ON FIRE. I loved it. It tasted like rubbing alcohol but IT WAS SO PRETTY!), trying to find a dance club, salsa dancing in the rain on the cobble stone streets in front of a salsa club (PERFECT LIFE MOMENT ALERT! PERFECT LIFE MOMENT ALERT!), wandering, wandering, playing dead, loudest dance club on earth, dancing with a local, cab back to Condado which lead to…

Heaven.

What is heaven?

Running into the warm night surf in the balmy Puerto Rico air. 

No skinny dipping, the whole group of us just went for it like silly kids, charging into the raging waves with our clothes on, splashing each other, kicking up water and sand and laughing til we couldn’t breathe. 

Trying to put into words what pure joy feels like is impossible. All I can say is, when I have these moments like storming the beach and dancing in the rain... and laughing until I'm sore... and reading my dad's book and hugging my mom and every other little thing that makes me happy, I know the meaning of life.  And that's pretty badass.

"Where to next- OH! Group picture!" says Stella