Some called it underwhelming. Others said it was over-hyped. Personally, I found it to be stunning. What am I talking about, you ask? I’m describing the first coast to coast total eclipse in the United State since 1918.

This celestial event had been hyped up for so long, so I was expecting a lot.

My parents and I headed up to Lake Hartwell, South Carolina to watch the eclipse from our neighbors’ lakehouse and get the full experience. Unfortunately, the full experience included traffic. So much traffic... We sat bumper to bumper for almost an hour, making the total trip last three hours longer than it needed to be.

When we finally reached our destination, it was already 11:45, and our neighbors had beaten us there. We only had an hour and 15 minutes to get ready. Frantically, my mom and I organized everything we would take on the boat. My dad and our neighbors hastily grilled up some hamburgers, and we all sat down to eat. After we digested, we loaded everything into the boat, eager to watch the entire eclipse unfold.

We drove around the lake for a while, enjoying the cool water and bouncing around on the waves. Our neighbors’ two dogs joined us and provided some adorable entertainment. As they hopped into the water and doggy-paddled as fast as their little legs could carry them, I wondered what the eclipse would look like. I’d seen pictures of previous eclipses, and personally, I found them to be kind of underwhelming. I hoped that seeing it in person would be worth the wait and traffic.

After multiple check-ins with my eclipse glasses, I told everyone that we were about to reach totality. We all gazed in awe as the moon moved ever-so-slowly over the sun. The little sliver of light grew smaller and smaller, and as it shrank, we noticed that it was getting dark at a shockingly fast rate.

All of a sudden, the sliver disappeared. In that split second, we were in complete darkness. It was astonishing. I got to see what our world would look like if we didn’t have the sun to light up our days or the moon to guide us at night, and while it was beautiful for that second, I wouldn’t want to live in a world without light.

After that second, the moon covered the sun in totality and the sun’s coronas exploded out from underneath. My mouth hung open as I took of my glasses. I don’t exaggerate when I say it was the most breathtaking sight that I had seen in all of my life. The pictures really didn’t do it justice. It looked almost…. heavenly. I could hear a collective gasp from everyone on the lake. There was complete and utter silence, and everything was dark except for the coronas. It only lasted for two minutes, and when it was over, I found myself wishing I could watch it again, or at least for a few more seconds.

While sitting in the three hours of traffic, I found myself wondering if two minutes of totality was even worth it. After watching the event unfold, I can say for sure that it was. Next time there's an eclipse, I highly recommend making the trip. You won't regret it.