The Power of Self Care and Moving

 During the summer, I took a weekend trip with one of my PRESHCO friends to Málaga who had stayed in Europe to do some traveling. We spent the night in the city and took the train to Caminito del Rey the next morning, a hike with breathtaking views that takes place along the steep walls of narrow gorges. My friend had wanted to visit Caminito del Rey for months and I was grateful that she invited me to go with her. We had a lot in common- we were both well rounded people with similar interests, music tastes, food preferences, and a love for the ocean. We both were on the dive team at our colleges, so it will come as no surprise that we are both huge fans of adventure and extreme sports. We both crossed skydiving off of our bucket lists on the same day during the spring semester when we went with my host dad who is a skydiving instructor.

The tour of Caminito del Rey was beautiful and I appreciated how the tour guide shared a lot its history with us. Although the wind sometimes made me nervous on the narrow boardwalk with a low fence, I still had a great time. Later that night at dinner, my friend and I were talking about what an adventure the hike was. Thank goodness she had lent me her sunscreen during the hike or otherwise the blazing sun would have burnt me like never before. She is disciplined when it comes to protecting herself from the sun, from putting on sunscreen to wearing sunglasses to limiting the amount of her skin that gets exposed to the sun with her sarong, one of her prized possessions. As someone who does not like the feel of sunscreen on my skin or sunglasses on my face, I am not quite as good about taking care of myself. When I complimented my friend on her efforts to stay healthy, she explained that her mom instilled in her from a young age the importance of self care because your body is something you only have one of. Thus, it is worth it to spend the extra money on high SPF sunscreen, quality sunglasses, and healthy food. This piece of advice stuck with me and I began to realize that I would not have been able to do most of the things I have done in Spain if I wasn't in good health. My body is my home and taking care of it will allow me to have many more adventures. 

Next, we started talking about the adventure of living far away from home. My friend goes to college on the other side of the county from where she lives, so she is used to being independent and being in new places. She said college was a great way to have a fresh start in a new place after high school and discover new things not only about the place she is on but also who she is and who she wants to be. She then proceeded to share another piece of advice her mom gave her, "If you are feeling lost, try moving to a new place." 

We finished off our trip to Málaga by splurging on tickets for 45 minutes at an inflatable water park. We did the obstacle courses, performed tricks on the water trampoline, and jumped off the side of the big slide. For the first time in a long time, I felt like a regular young person and college student. I felt free, and incredibly grateful for the gift of mobility. Because I go to such an academically rigorous school, I do sometimes feel that I miss out on spending quality time with friends during my four years of college. My time in Spain has been a great way to learn a lot while also letting go and letting myself catch up on the fun with friends that I didn't let myself have during high school and most of college, as I know these memories are the ones that will last me a lifetime. 

We lost track of time and before we knew it, we were putting on our clothes over our wet bathing suits and running to the train station. Given that my friend would be flying to Northern Spain that night and wouldn't be coming back to Southern Spain, we had to say goodbye very quickly. Although this wasn't ideal, the extra time we got at the inflatable water park was so worth it. I am sure I will see my friend again soon. 

Although college has given me many great opportunities, I still feel lost with regard to what I want in life because oftentimes I can't separate what I want truly want to do from what I think I should do. Living on a college campus can make it easy to get sucked into what other people are doing instead of what is right for me. As someone who has lived in Massachusetts her whole life and goes to college close to home, I am itching to try a new place after I graduate to see if it will make me realize that I belong somewhere else or if it will make me appreciate Massachusetts more, a place that I often take for granted. My time in Spain and my friend have given me the courage to go for it "sin miedo" and take care of myself so I have the strength to keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone.