On the white, sandy beach in St. Pete I finally knew what I wanted to do in my life. I knew where I was going and what I should be. Sometimes in hard times, you see your true goals. You find who you are, and that is exactly what happened to me. I realized what I should major in, I realized where I wanted to start my life. Though I had been going through my lowest time God shed light on who I was meant to be.

For my 16th birthday, my ex-boyfriend, my mother and I hopped on a flight and went to Florida. It had been really rough the past months before. I had been abused in multiple ways and had been keeping quiet about it. I was on the edge of giving up on everything, but then my mom had surprised me with a trip to Florida. The day of my birthday was 5 days into the trip. We left Saturday and my birthday was on that upcoming Wednesday. So, on Wednesday we went to the beach of my choice. It was the white, sandy beach of St. Petersburg. From a 3-hour car ride, I was so excited to just lay in the sand and tan. But from the parking lot, we had to go through a trail to get to the sand. And as the amazing view started to peak through the bushes, I was at home. It was warm and I could feel it wrap my skin with an excited welcome. I fell in love with the vibes.

Realizing what you were meant to do in life is the most reassuring thing anyone could ever feel. It makes you feel like you have a reason to be on earth. And a lot of times people lose sight of that idea of belonging, and it makes continuing hard. It makes living seem stupid and unreasonable, and I had been stooping to that point. It was so rough, but looking at the horizon while I was paddle boarding and realizing I'm so small but I can have a big impact on other people by becoming a psychologist. I had been through hell and back, and I knew from my life experiences I could help others to the right path. I knew that I needed to spend the rest of my life in St. Petersburg so I wouldn’t quit on the thought of not sacrificing my happiness to help others. 

You never really know what your life plan is, but when you get a small glimpse of it… It's so relieving. You have to take that ray of hope and hold onto it...tight because in the worst times comes the best of opportunities. God closes a door and you feel trapped, but before you know it… he opens another one and it's better than what you could have ever expected. So on that white sandy beach in St. Pete I found who I was in a horrible situation. That ocean is what showed me my path. And that path has peaks and valleys, but those valleys make the peaks so much higher.