Summer vacation is a time when most students have the opportunity to relax, work, intern, or even take more classes. If you're one of the lucky ones, you'll be able to go on vacation and travel to a new and exciting place.

Thankfully, before I head back to the beautiful and exotic land of Waco, Texas, I got to go to San Juan, Puerto Rico with one of my best friends. I have traveled out of the country on several occasions and even studied abroad in London for a whole month last summer. However, I am a huge fan of the beach and knew that with a busy summer ahead, a place like San Juan would be a great place to take it easy for a week.

I did not know a lot about Puerto Rico prior to planning my trip there with my friend and staying in San Juan for a week. All that I really knew about Puerto Rico was that they had suffered a lot because of Hurricane Maria back in September and October. I also knew that it would be easy to travel to Puerto Rico because it is a territory of the United States and a passport was not required for U.S. citizens, which meant no annoying stop at customs.

Puerto Rico was a beautiful island. In San Juan, there were some signs of damage from Maria, but nothing too obvious or disheartening that my friend and I observed. We enjoyed meeting the locals and eating the food, which was absolutely delicious. My favorite part of our trip was going to the stunning beaches. We went to Escambron Beach, Isla Verde Beach, and Playita del Condado. My personal favorite beach was Escambron, as the water was so clear and the sand was white.

On Friday night, the place to go in San Juan is La Placita. The streets were filled with locals and tourists alike enjoying themselves — dancing and sipping on whatever their drinks of choice were. Saturday, we ventured out to Old San Juan and went to La Factoría, the bar where the music video for "Despacito" was filmed.

My friend and I had an amazing time in San Juan, and I highly recommend that if you have the time and means, you should definitely visit. Ultimately, my goal in writing this article is to prove that there is more to a place than what the headlines in the media say.