I’ve always been told I’m a terrible listener. Absolutely terrible.

It’s not that I don’t try to listen to people; I just have the tendency of “zoning out” when someone speaks to me and tuning out the important details of what they said. Sometimes I am also too focused on what I want to say and, therefore, fail to listen to the words of the person speaking to me. I personally did not believe that my listening skills were so poor until they started landing me in embarrassing situations. This is one of them.

I traveled to Peru this past summer with my brother, my best friend, and her family. The experience was unforgettably amazing and I visited a plethora of exotic places. One of these exotic places was Puerto Maldonado; a southeast region of Peru that serves as a link to a vast part of the Amazon Jungle. In order to get to this part of the Amazon, we traveled on a boat from Puerto Maldonado to an Amazon tour site. When the boat arrived at the tour site we were all instructed to walk on the plank of wood that was laid out for us and to not step in the large masses of mud that surrounded it. I ignored these directions.

Before I take a step off the boat my brother reminds me again, “Don’t step in the mud.” I then proceed to step off the boat, put one foot on the plank and tragically, put one foot in the mud. The foot that was in the mud caused me to lose my balance and, next thing you know, both my feet are knee-deep in mud that is causing me to sink faster than the Titanic. My best friend grabbed my arm and was able to help me lift my feet out of the mud so I survived. However, I soiled my shoes, my leggings, and my dignity.

I had to walk the long pathway to the cabin where we were staying while passing other tourists obnoxiously staring at my muddy foot steps and laughing. I’m not the kind of person who gets embarrassed easily by these types of situations, but I definitely felt ashamed. I was ashamed of myself for not listening to such simple directions and giving my best friend’s mom a panic attack. Her mom had the decency of allowing me to explore the beautiful Amazon jungle with her and the first thing I do is scare her shitless!

And I was scared shitless, too!

I am almost positive that I saw my life flash before my eyes when I felt that thick pool of mud swallow both of my legs.

Imagine if my best friend couldn’t help me up? What if the mud would have swallowed my waist, too?! My face?! I could have drowned in the Amazon rainforest!

Yes, I am being dramatic and exaggerating the situation, however, it was still a terrifying experience that I could never forget. I could never forget the Amazon mud that still haunts me to this day along with the lesson it taught me.

It taught me to listen to people when they are speaking. I know that this situation solely involves paying attention to safety rules, but it has opened my eyes to how awful I am at listening to people.

When people speak to me I shouldn’t “zone out” or think about what I want to say instead. I should pay attention and focus on what that person is trying to tell me. Listening to people not only saves you from almost drowning in mud but also allows you to build long-lasting relationships with people. If you are terrible at listening to other people, then other people will be terrible at listening to you. Relationships thrive on people listening to each other, processing their words, and then forming a bond because of it.

I have promised myself and other people that I am going to work on my listening skills and become a good listener. Whether I am knee-deep in boy-drama, friend-drama, family-drama, or mud from the Amazon jungle, I will listen to you first. I will be there for you with an open mind, an open heart, and open ears.