“Ce, you’re not going to get in?” Nikki asked as she and the other girls were preparing to dive into the lagoon that sat in between the gorgeous Phi Phi Island.

I blushed away from the idea of drowning in the Andaman Sea.  I couldn’t swim and I didn’t trust a life jacket, either. So I stayed on the boat as each girl blew kissy faces, threw up peace signs, screamed and dived into the turquoise water.

“Ce!!! Come in! I will help you. You will float with the life jacket. Don’t jump off the speed boat just slowly come down the stairs.” Shelly, the mother of the group calmly, said. “Come on Ce! We are in Thailand. We’re in Asia! You may never do this again. Let’s go!” The other girls shouted.

I gave it a quick thought and attempted to give myself a little pep talk.   I meannn, you are in Thailand.  It is the first time for everything, Carissa. Just do it, girl. You will regret it later.

I glanced up at the tour guide that was smiling at me. He must’ve read my mind. “The life jacket will keep you above water.”  I reluctantly reached for the jacket and slipped it on. Please God, I’m too young to die.

My heart was pounding fast by the second as my body submerged into the sea.  I could feel a panic attack coming.

“Breath slowly Ce! You got this! Relax. Enjoy it.” said Shelly as she squeezed my hand.

A stranger, an Austrian male, swam over to help me.  He gently grabbed my other hand and gave me a warm smile. Who was this man?  It didn’t matter; I welcomed it.

Him and Shelly managed to calm my nerves. That’s when I realized I was floating. My legs swung freely in the cool water and my heart smiled. I’m alive. I’m in the lagoon in the Andaman Sea. I’m alive. “Oh My Gosh! Look at this. It’s beautiful.” I shared.

I heard cheers from the girls from across the sea. They were all so proud of me. Can you believe I had overcome one of my greatest fears? And that alone made me proud too.

Our next stop was Ma Ya Bay, a beautifully structured island.

Although our time was cut short, we had enough time to explore the miniature island. So we snapped a few pictures and gazed into the sky. There was no doubt in our mind that God took his time creating that gorgeous island.

 

Before departing to our third activity for the day, snorkeling, we wrote a message in the sand to leave behind our love.

As the girls prepared to depart into the deep sea to view tropical fish, colorful coral, and other marine life, I laid back and indulged in a tall cold bottle of Coca Cola.   I’ve already proven myself worthy today at the lagoon; I was ok with missing out on this adventure

The boat aggressively rocked back and forth, which made it very difficult to relax.

“We are having high tides!” The tour guide shouted.

I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but I grabbed a life jacket until I figured it out. I was scared to death and to make matters worse, I was beginning to feel nauseous. This trip was starting to become a nightmare.

The girls climbed back onto the boat to free themselves from the monstrous waves. The boat took off to escape the incoming storm. The tides roared and the water smacked our faces and arms.

“Did someone throw up?” Shelly said.

The air was silent. Everyone was exhausted from the adventure and couldn’t move their lips to respond. I simply ignored her because I knew what I was about to do. I could feel the pineapple and Cola on its way up out of me.

I was SEASICK. I grabbed a disowned plastic bag from off of the floor to do the unspeakable.

“Are you ok?” They asked as we landed on yet another gorgeous island, Koh Phi Phi Leh.

“I’m tired of all this beautifulness! Carry my ass home! I’m sleepy as hell and hot! Shit!” Shelly laughed out loud and jokingly said.

That definitely broke the mood and we all joined in with laughter. I was ok, but exhausted. In fact, we all were. Therefore, we took advantage of the opportunity to lightly explore, sleep and sunbathe.

When it was finally time to go, I picked up a seashell to be reminded of my experiences on that day–BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE.