We have all heard the story where a person has been in some trying situation and they get an epiphany about their lives. Usually, there are a large series of events leading up to these situations, and it had been something the person had been debating for a long time. It essentially gives them a purpose for their lives or teaches an important lesson. Chris McCandless realized that he would be happy around people, Deadpool realizes that love is not always on the outside, Rae realizes that she is meant to be a Jedi, and there are plenty of other movies references I could make. However this is not one of those stories.
My moment was unexpected. It all started when I was in the summer going into 7th grade. My family had taken a vacation with some family friends down in Cancun, Mexico. As breathtaking as the scenery there was, it was not that which had an impact me. It was the last day of our vacation. The sky was grey, the wind was whipping, it was dark, damp and dreary. Due to the unfortunate weather circumstances I spent the majority of the day inside. Our parents, making the best of it, spent the day poolside. Since our parents were always so entertaining, we figured that they could pull us out of this dark day funk.
My sister, my two friends, and I make our way outside to search for our parents. As we walk out of the building there was a large amass of people standing by the sea wall. Out of curiosity we make our way towards the crowd to see our parents in there. My dad grabs my arm and tells me to peer over the edge. Standing on my tippy-toes I glance over to see lifeguards digging throughout the sand. They were working in a sectioned off area of the beach which had many signs with numbers on it. As I try to analyze what is going on my dad tells me that they are digging up wild sea turtle eggs. Hurricane Dolly was on its way and the eggs only had a chance of survival if they relocated it. Thy worked not because it was their job, or they owned the property, or because the hotel owned them, but because they genuinely cared about the other species they lived with.
If this was not moving enough, people were yelling over the sea wall asking if the could help out. The lifeguards were resisting for a long amount of time until the waves started encroaching and they knew they could not finish the tasl by themselves. The lifeguards asked us at the sea wall to assist them in the rescue mission. They broke down positions and had a very mechanical game plan. Trench Digger’s were responsible for digging trenches in between walls and redirecting the water away from the nests. Builders were in charge of creating sand walls. They were approximately 7ft long, 2ft tall, and 3ft in width with the edges of the walls curving towards the nests. Then there were the relocators. There was a methodological way to move the eggs. Step one was to locate your assigned nest and look at the sign. The sign stated how many eggs were in each nest (regularly anywhere from 100-250 eggs and a little less then 20 nests). They also received a styrofoam cooler where the eggs would be placed. There had to be an inch of sand, then a flat layer of eggs, follow by an inch of sand, until the cooler was full. During this process, you must count each individual egg in order to leave none behind. The sand and cooler combination was not only to transport the eggs but to keep them incubated. The temperature at which a sea turtle egg develops will determine their sex.
Because I was only 12, I was put on trench duty. This was the most intense thing I ever had to do. There were rocking rolling around hitting into people, the water was coming up and washing away progress, knocking down sand walls, and people’s hands were white from the intense cold temperatures of the water. After sometime, the water got too close and the storm was getting too violent and close for comfort. They turned to people building the trenches and walls and asked them to become a part of the relocating mission.
I ran over to my father and he explained the process to me. With nervous hands I picked up my first wild sea turtle egg. For just one moment, the entire world stopped. It was only the side of a golf ball with a papery feel. If I had squeezed my hand any harder it would easily collapse in my hands. As I was observing the texture and warmth of the egg I felt it move. I felt a little fin rub against my hand through the thin outer surface of the egg. At that moment I realized that I was responsible for the life or death of this creature. Without me, those eggs would be completely destroyed by the storm and contribute to the ever decreasing population of wild sea turtles. I held the egg for one more second and we intensely got to work.
At the end of this event, we saved every single nest on the beach and got every single egg out of each individual nest. Then we sat down with the guards and the explained why their mission was so important. Besides for the intrinsic value of life and nature, turtles have an extremely hard time making it to adulthood. Out of the thousands off eggs saved, on 4 or 5 would make it fully to adulthood. Many babies would be eaten by predators, before the eggs even hatched. When the eggs would be hatched, the babies would either be picked up by predators on the way to the sea, crushed by the waves, or eaten by larger fish. Once they did make it to adulthood, sea turtles will come back to the spot where they were born and lay their own eggs, wherever they are in the world.
I like to think, that maybe I saved that egg which would further the population and keep the wild turtles coming back to the resort. This moment helped me understand the value of a life. I believe that someway, I was meant to be a helping hand for the animals and people who are suffering from environmental distress and are not able to have a strong voice.
