Recently, I traveled to Ecuador to participate in a medical brigade with a group of students from my school. On the last day, we had some free time and were able to explore a touristy town known as "Baños." (Yes, translated into Spanish as "bathrooms," but I guarantee you that the place was beautiful nonetheless.) While touring, we hiked a waterfall, went zip-lining, and eventually were given the option of "puenting." This is a type of bungee-jumping activity, where you stand on the edge of a bridge and nose-dive down into a somersault while falling 100 meters in a few seconds. Although most people would (intelligently) shy away from this opportunity, I decided to take advantage of it. Although I was too scared to think for the majority of the time I was up there, I ended up learning a thing or two about myself throughout the whole experience.
1. How dumb I am.
This is pretty apparent, seeing as though I agreed to plummet down towards a body of water that was mostly filled with rocks. For those few minutes of my life, I gave myself up to a few bungee cords that were possibly (probably) pretty old and worn down. Not to mention that part of the apparatus was held together by a plastic Dasani water bottle stuffed with pebbles. Good.
2. How tied down by things we are.
Right before the jump, one of the workers was helping me put my harness on. I guess I seemed pretty nervous going into it because he decided to give me an inspirational speech while instructing me on what to do. He jokingly told me how I should think of something that holds me down, and jump off the bridge as if I were jumping away from it. I took his words pretty literally and did just that. It wasn't one specific thing that came to mind, but many things that I realized constantly weigh me down. Jumping off was one way to mentally rid myself of these toxins.
3. How important it is to surround yourself with people who love and care about you.
While standing on the tiny platform overlooking the water, I turned back and looked around at the group of people who I had spent the past week with. Before the trip, I was only acquaintances with most of them. But you get pretty close after you're living together in a set-up with no hot water and questionable plumbing. It became apparent to me how special each and every one of them was to me. Although I was a mere few millimeters from the edge, seeing their faces sent a wave of comfort and happiness over me.
4. How exhilarating it is to feel afraid.
Being scared or anxious is typically seen as a negative thing. But as cliché as it sounds, standing on the plank of wood overlooking the Ecuadorian river made me feel unbelievably alive. Between my shaky knees and my loudly-beating heart, I was literally able to feel my bones and organs pounding inside of me.
5. How seemingly insignificant I am in comparison to the rest of the world.
This sounds super depressing, but it doesn't have to be. In comparison to how small I am, my problems are even tinier. I realized I sometimes fall into living an egotistic lifestyle where I think the whole world revolves around me. It's also common for me to overreact to a problem and feel as though I have the weight of the earth crashing down on me. But swinging through the beautiful landscape and being surrounded by the incredible mountains and waterfalls showed me how much more there is out there than just my little world.
6. How much I love my parents.
This is just because they got extremely mad at me after I did this (rightfully so!) and wouldn't talk to me for a few hours after. Sorry, guys — this one's for you.
