I never really take vacations, mainly because my family can't afford it. However, this year my mom managed to scrape up enough cash to afford a trip to Puerto Rico. Both my grandparents were born on the island, with my grandfather moving to the states when he was around twelve. My grandmother didn't leave till she was eighteen-ish and long story short she immediately married my grandfather.

Today there remains only a few members of my extended family on the island. Speaking of the island itself it has faced a great deal of hardship for the last two years or so since the hurricane. The infamous hurricane that practically destroyed Puerto Rico. It's easy for people to just talk about a place faces with a tragedy and not seeing it first hand. Having seen and explained the extent of the destruction first hand I can tell that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to the island. Difficult work that politicians seem to undermine.

I arrived on the island on a Wednesday; the drive to our condo was about an hour outside of San Juan. Simply driving down the highway I peered out at the landscape. Outside the city, it's not the standard American suburbs. Houses are spread out, with large luscious leaves and forest separating chunks of building. I was taken back when I saw like for example; a horse residing on the side of the road. I know even in rural America there wouldn't be horses just residing on the ride of the road with no rope tying them to a post.

Marc Anthony Brown

In the two years since the island's destruction, some things have been rebuilt while many other things have not. On one of my first food stops on the island, there was construction barricades next to a bunch of shops. My cousin (who lives on the island) told me they were fixing up the road since it was damaged by the hurricane. Clevelanders can't even comprehend a construction project lasting more than one summer. Two years is insane. Other parts of the island seem to still be suffering from the storm. In the Yunque National Forest, there are trail-paths still destroyed and unassessable. It was somewhat disappointing to see that. Hard to imagine the people who live in the more rural parts in the island surviving. My cousin explained how one woman, 80 years old, died of starvation since help couldn't reach her in time. It's really irritating knowing how some people in Washington like to undermine the true death toll. Taking the fact that I'm half Puerto Rican out of the argument, it's just disappointing that these US Citizens give everything for the USA but are given nearly nothing in return.

Selena Barrow

But Puerto Rico isn't all gloom and doom. I got to relax on the white sandy beaches of Icacos Island. The boat ride there was pretty sketchy but the view was amazing. The water was so clear under my feet it was like I was in one of those crews commercials that show the beautiful sandy beaches. And the Old San Juan district was one of the best parts of the trip. It was really beautiful to see all these old buildings built during the time of the Spaniards still standing. Each one was beautiful and brightly colored. The stones, for example, were blue, first being set in the ground centuries ago! The nightlife was something else too. Besides the fact I had food poising, I was having a great time at this rave club thing; people were dancing and playing actually good music. I know I don't go to many clubs but I feel like the ones in Athens pale in comparison to the ones in Old San Juan.

Another thing that made my trip to the island enjoyable was the people. Everyone was friendly, like really friendly. I didn't feel fearful walking down the street or having people judge me as I walk by. Oh, and the police officers were so nice. I know not all American police officers are mean but there are a lot of outliers who are very discriminatory and treat everyone like a criminal. I remember once I was reporting an incident to a US cop and he kept judging the way I spoke. In Puerto Rico, cops said hello with a smile. They were super helpful with directions and when an incident occurred they didn't immediately draw their weapons or put their hand on their holster. Trying a wonderful experience.

Marc Anthony Brown

In conclusion, I enjoyed my time on the island. I saw the bad and I saw some of the good. Like I said I never go on vacation so I felt kinda bad for some reason every time I posted a video of me having fun on Snapchat. I miss my friends and I know they were probably jealous. I guess that pretty much sums up my personality up pretty well. I could be having the time of my life, but I always want to make sure everyone else is happy too, no matter where they are.