“Race you to Cinnamon Bay!” Alex yelled to Lloyd.
“Fine. I’ll bet you though.” Lloyd handed off his backpack of beach supplies, so that he could run faster. “I’ll be on my way back by the time you get there!” he laughed.
“Alright, if you guys race, we have to make sure it’s fair.” I grabbed Alex’s bag and handed it to Celia, so that he could run just as fast. “Drink some water, and on the count of three, you guys will start.” I handed both of them water bottles and told them to take a few gulps.
Celia drew a line in the dirt of the pathway, and the boys lined up and jogged in place to warm up their muscles.
“Okay.” The two of them got in a stance to start the race. “Get ready! One… Two.... Three… GO!” I shouted, and they shot off like bullets.
Alex was in the lead, but Lloyd was saving his energy. Suddenly, they were both out of sight and on their way to the beach.
The rest of the group slowly hiked through the vegetation-filled pathway. We didn’t feel like wasting our energy before we arrived at the beach. As we walked, I realized that the trees looked more like the ones in Vermont than I thought. They were bright green and healthy. I was expecting palm trees and only palm trees. Of course, there were palm trees, but there were also normal Vermont trees.
“Damn, it is hot here…” my eyes glazed over from the overwhelming humidity. The sweat stuck to my body in the most satisfying way. The weather was nice, but it was hot and sticky. I don’t like sticky. Sweating was a welcomed relief.
“Yeah…of course! You came to the Virgin Islands. What did you expect?” Nadia responded in a sassy tone. She turned around and began skipping while singing some song from a musical. She’s just a regular musical theatre nerd.
“And how far away is this beach?” I asked. We had been hiking for over half an hour. “Is it really worth it?” I sighed with exhaustion.
“Yes. I promise it is.” Marina answered me with a big smile. “We are only about five minutes away now.”
Yay! “Good, I can manage that.”
We continued walking and talking for five minutes, and the whole group turned left and tried to squeeze down a tiny path. This would bring us to the beach. I could see the water.
Celia and I live in Vermont, so we could not wait to make it to the bright blue water. We had spent hours planning this trip, which our parents had permitted to take on our own. It was exhilarating and freeing to be here visiting our friends. We decided that we needed to race down the viney trail to see who could make it there first.
She won. She’s athletic... and I am not.
When I reached the end of the path and continued to the water, I stopped about twenty feet from the ocean and stood awestruck by the water. In the distance, I could hear Lloyd celebrating. The aquamarine water licked the white sand with every wave. The warm breeze caused the palm trees to sway to and fro in slow motion.
All of the locals slathered on sunscreen, and because I wanted to tan, I thought I didn’t need to put too much on. BIG MISTAKE! Let’s just say I fell asleep on my stomach and I wasn’t able to sleep on my back for the next week.
Other than that mistake, this beach trip was incredible. Of course, we did all of the typical touristy things. How could we not? The water was so blue, with an equally shiny sky matching it. The sun shone its rays on the humans playing volley ball, splashing in the glittering waves, or lounging in chairs in their bathing suits. It was picture perfect. We took many pictures and posed on the beach. Gosh, how touristy could we get? People stared at us, but we didn’t care. After a while, we took off our clothes to reveal our bathing suits under them and quickly ran into the perfectly see-through cerulean blue shallows.
“Hey, does anyone want to go jump off the big rock with me?” Marina took off her sundress and rubbed on some sunscreen.
“YEAH!!!” five people shouted in agreement. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to; I was a bit scared of heights.
I looked at Marina’s shining face. “I will meet you over there soon. I want to get in the water and check the temperature,” I lied. I knew it would be warm, but I wasn’t sure if I could handle the height of the rock.
The group of them ran over to the enormous rock, including Celia. Dammit! I’m sure they will make me do it now. They all climbed the large rock wall, but there weren’t many good places to grab and climb, so they needed to plan out their escalade.
Nadia stayed back with me, because she was scared of heights too. “It’s okay... I can tell you’re afraid of the height.” We waded into the warm, clear blue water. It felt nice. “I am too. Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”
“No I’m no--” I stopped trying to convince her. “Yeah, I am. How could you tell?”
She laughed, “You looked terrified when Marina mentioned it.” She turned to the rock and imitated my scrunched brow and wide eyes that I had made earlier.
I laughed. “Okay, that’s true.” We continued going deeper into the water. I turned around to look at how far we had gone into the water. Wow. There were enormous green mountains in the distance, that made the beach seem so small in comparison. Hammocks hung between every other tree with at least four people stacked in each one. Beach chairs lined the shore with tan women, wearing huge round sunglasses, lounging in them. To complete the tropical image, all of the golden ladies needed a piña colada in their right hands.
Screams could be heard from the rock jumpers, but I wasn’t done absorbing the image.
There were a few iguanas on land greeting everyone at the beach. Hundreds of small fish flitted between our legs, and I’m pretty sure I saw a baby turtle swimming around. There were sailboats to the right of us and there were three speed boats racing to the next island.
“It’s gorgeous here.” Those were the only words I was able to say after I took in my surroundings.
“Yeah, it is.”
“Bonnie!!” Marina screamed from the top of her lungs. “Come on, just try it once!”
I didn’t argue with her. I stomped out of the water and made my way to the bottom of the rock. “You can do it, Bonnie,” I whispered to myself. “This is a new place. Create new memories and have new experiences.” I clung to the rock and slowly made my way to the top.
Celia already jumped off the huge rock twice and she loved it. “Bonn, you will love it! I promise.” She was soaked, but I needed as much encouragement as I could get, so I let her hug me.
“I hope so.” I walked to the edge of the rock and looked down. Don’t look down. Don’t do it. Look out. I saw Nadia wading in the water still. She gave me a thumbs up and smiled.
Okay, let’s do this thing.
The group started cheering behind me. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, because I was too scared to hear them, but I’m sure it was all nice. I looked down again. Oh s***, it is such a far drop. 
I raised my head to look out and saw the gorgeous, cloudless, blue sky. The sun shone down on me, and I absorbed its rays of positivity. Do it for new experiences, Bonnie. One, Two, Three...GO! And at that moment, I jumped and screamed all the way down. It was a far drop, but not as bad as I thought it would be. SPLASH! I did it. I took the leap!
All of the hard work I went through for planning my first trip without parents was worth it. Buying the plane tickets, organizing a homestay, and adjusting to the different culture in St. John created my perfect, fantasy trip. I had never been out of the United States and I was scared of the hard work. It was necessary for me to stay motivated, so that I was able to make it here and take the leap for change.
Marina shouted down to me. “How was it?”
I choked on some water and Celia was preparing to jump off the rock to help me, but before she jumped I held up my hand in a thumbs-up sign and yelled, “Awesome!”